In August 2013, Michael Douglas and his wife, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, shared their marital woes with the public, and announced that they were separating to “evaluate and work on their marriage.”

Now, nearly a year later, through many ups and downs, it looks as though the couple has mended their relationship, and their time apart lead Douglas to realize how much he had taken his wife for granted.

“When you are younger you care what other people think. And you take the person closest to you for granted. You waste a lot of energy on strangers to make a good impression. When you’re older you focus that energy on the people closest to you, on your family. And you’re courteous,” Douglas told The Sun newspaper.

The couple, who are parents to son Dylan, 13, and daughter Carys, 10, always remained positive that they would be able to reconcile. “Sometimes people take a little bit of a break, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the end,” Douglas revealed in an interview with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show . “I’m very hopeful.”

Sources close to the couple explained that Michael and Catherine’s decision to separate was largely due to their illnesses. Michael was diagnosed with throat cancer and Catherine has been battling bipolar disorder for much of her adult life.

When asked by ET’s special correspondent Gayle King if things were worked out between him and Catherine, or if they were still being worked out, he responded: “I think you’re always working things out. Yeah, we are doing great thank you. Were very close and everything is going great.”

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