(Photo Credit: Al Powers/Invision/AP Photo)

Michael Douglas says he has high hopes for getting his relationship with wife Catherine Zeta-Jones back on track.

The two announced at the end of August they had separated, but last night Douglas, 68, told Jay Leno the relationship might be on the mend.

"I hope, I've been away for a while but everything should hopefully be on the up and up," he said on "The Tonight Show" of his relationship with Zeta-Jones, 44. "Sometimes people take a little bit of break, but that doesn't necessarily mean that's the end, so I'm very hopeful."

Douglas and his candid comments earned him a round of applause from the show's studio audience.

Last night wasn't the first sign the power couple were working things out. He told reporters in Berlin at the beginning of September that "We are fine … My wife and I are fine."

Read: Michael Douglas 'Working Things Out' with Catherine Zeta-Jones

Then, he thanked "my wife, Catherine, for her support," during his Emmy Award speech after winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, for HBO's Liberace bio-pic "Behind the Candelabra."

Douglas told Leno that his kids are doing great during the split and even joked that 13-year-old son Dylan is too busy acting and scheming for a movie role to worry.

Douglas explained that after Dylan listed his accomplishments like honor role and school plays. He said, "Dad, how about throwing me a bone?"

"So, he's negotiating with me," Douglas joked.