Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas' infidelity revealed in new book

Kirk and Anne Douglas are getting candid about their 63-year marriage.

Hollywood's original power couple released a new book, "Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood," that revealed intimate letters they shared through the years. They communicate through emails due to a stroke Kirk suffered in 1996 that impacted his speech.

In the book, Anne, 98, admitted that her husband had other lovers -- and she was aware of it and willfully turned a blind eye.

"I told him right from the start that I needed to hear from him directly if he was having or had had a fling. And since he can't keep a secret, he always has -- none of them serious and usually when he was lonely and on location without me," Anne wrote in an email to FOX News.

The German-born actress also added that her unconventional response to Kirk's cheating was due to her upbringing:

"European women are less likely to run to the divorce court in righteous indignation than Americans are. I loved my husband and my life and our family, so why would I give all that up because of pride? We are together because we love and respect each other and share the same values."

The longtime couple also dropped another bombshell -- Anne saved Kirk's life twice.

The first time was when she refused to let him get on a private plane in 1958 with director and close pal Mike Todd, who was then married to Elizabeth Taylor. The plane crashed over New Mexico and killed everyone on board.

The second time, Kirk said she drove him to the hospital "in record time" when he suffered his stroke "and then gave me tough love to bring me out of my suicidal depression afterward."

Kirk and Anne's love story is straight out of a movie -- they first met in Paris in the early 1950s while he was on location for an upcoming film. The first time he asked her out, she said no!

"I had been a big movie star with two Oscar nominations by the time I met Anne, and I believed that any woman would be flattered if I asked her out," he recalled. "Anne was the one who turned me down."

But there was a reason for Anne's cautiousness ...

"Of course, he was charming and sexy, but I had seen too many young women in Paris fall in love with American movie stars who went home to their lives and wives when their pictures wrapped," she explained. "I certainly didn't want to be another location romance casualty. I had survived war in occupied Paris, and knew instinctively how to protect myself from dangerous situations."

RELATED: Kirk's actor son, Michael:

Well it seems like Kirk managed to win her over, and they began a lifetime of writing love letters to each other. Thankfully, Anne saved all of them.

And despite their ups and downs, Kirk and Anne have built a beautiful life together, which includes their three children, Peter, Eric and Michael. Kirk has one child, Joel, from his previous marriage to Diana Douglas.

Kirk and Anne revealed their simple secret to such a long marriage:

"[Date night is] the same as it's been throughout our marriage," Kirk said. "We spend what we call the 'golden hour' together at around 6:30 each night. We'll sit and talk and laugh and share our day and our thoughts with each other."