George Clooney’s decision to marry wife Amal is helping to ‘keep him young,’ according to sources who claim that if it wasn’t for her he would be napping all the time and may not have enjoyed the same success in his later years.
Back when the Hollywood star’s first marriage to Talia Balsam fell apart in the early 90s, the heartthrob famously vowed to journalist Barbara Walters that he would never marry again.
However, everything changed when the Ocean’s Eleven actor, 63, crossed paths with human rights lawyer Amal, 46, in 2013 – with the pair tying the knot less than a year after their romance first blossomed.
George sleeps less and feels ‘young and very active’ thanks to his wife’s influence.
‘George and his first wife Talia Balsam divorced in 1993. That’s when he swore off marriage,’ an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively. ‘He played the field for years. That was until he fell in love with Amal and married her over ten years ago.’
Explaining the impact their age difference has had on the Oscar-nominee, the source added: ‘She’s seventeen years his junior and makes him feel youthful again. Ella and Alexander also keep him young and very active.
George Clooney’s decision to marry Amal is helping to ‘keep him young,’ according to sources who claim that if it wasn’t for her he may not have enjoyed the same success in his later years
‘If it wasn’t for Amal and the kids he says he’d be taking naps whenever he could and not leading the type of exciting life he does now.’
They continued: ‘Most days usually start at the crack of dawn for George and Amal with the twins running into their bedroom and jumping on the bed.
‘Amal doesn’t let George go back to sleep. They both play with Ella and Alexander, then she gets him up and they go for a long walk.
‘Before Amal came into his life he’d sleep in if he wasn’t working. Now he doesn’t have the choice and he loves it.’
The lawyer has even improved his eating habits, with George no longer skipping breakfast and cutting out pasta as a daily staple.
‘Amal throws together a light, healthy breakfast,’ the insider said. ‘George would usually skip breakfast before she came into his life.
‘Amal’s also switched up a lot of George’s diet. He still loves pasta, but it’s not a daily thing anymore. It’s a treat. They don’t eat out that much. When they do it’s usually sushi. At home it’s mainly proteins.’
The insider added: ‘They work out together and George loves it. Pre Amal he had a tendency to put on a little weight. Not anymore, when he knows he has to be seen next to his beautiful wife.’
The Ocean’s Eleven actor, 63, crossed paths with human right lawyer Amal, 46, in 2013 – with the pair tying the knot less than a year after their romance began
Back when the Hollywood heartthrob’s first marriage to Talia Balsam fell apart in the early 90s, George famously vowed that he would never marry again
Though the star is focused on family life, his career is also flourishing, with several projects lined up for the new year, including his Broadway debut as Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck next Spring.
The stage play, co-written by George and Grant Heslov, is based on the screenplay of his Oscar-nominated 2005 film.
‘I am honored, after all these years, to be coming back to the stage and especially, to Broadway, the art form and the venue that every actor aspires to,’ he said.
The beloved actor – who recently weathered a backlash in the wake of Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris – is also set to star alongside Adam Sandler and Laura Dern in an upcoming film by director Noah Baumbach.
George’s mixed feelings about marriage kicked off after he met his ex-wife Talia in 1984. The pair eventually tied the knot in 1989.
But just three years in, their relationship started to deteriorate and by 1992, the actor had filed for divorce.
Reflecting on the failed union, he later admitted: ‘I probably – definitely – wasn’t someone who should have been married at that point. I just don’t feel like I gave Talia a fair shot. I was responsible for the failure of that marriage.’
In interviews after the divorce, George made it clear that while he no longer wanted marriage, he did want to raise kids.
An insider explained: ‘If it wasn’t for Amal and their kids he says he’d be taking naps whenever he could and not leading the type of exciting life he does now’
The insider continued: ‘Before Amal came into his life he’d sleep in if he wasn’t working. Now he doesn’t have the choice and he loves it’
Speaking to GQ magazine in 2013 about why he hadn’t started a family yet, he explained: ‘I haven’t had aspirations in that way, ever. I was married in 1989. I wasn’t very good at it.
‘I was quoted as saying I’ll never get married again pretty much right after I got divorced and then I’ve never talked about it since.’
Following the divorce, he quickly became Hollywood’s most eligible – and arguably most desirable – bachelor before shocking fans when he proposed to Amal in April 2014.
The couple exchanged vows at Venetian palace Ca’ Farsetti just five months later.
He admitted that his life irreversibly changed for the better from the moment he first met Amal during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning in 2020.
‘There is no question that having Amal in my life changed everything for me,’ he said. ‘It was the first time that everything that she did and everything about her was infinitely more important than anything about me.’
Referring to their twins, whom they welcomed in 2017, he added: ‘And then we had these two knuckleheads. It is very fulfilling and something I wasn’t at all…didn’t see coming.’
In contrast to the feeling he previously shared with GQ magazine over the years, the actor couldn’t stop pouring out praise about married life during another 2020 interview.
The source explained that Amal has been making sure the pair keep their bodies in the best shape possible with a healthy diet and couples workouts
He said: ‘I was like, “I’m never getting married. I’m not gonna have kids”. I’m gonna work, I’ve got great friends, my life is full, I’m doing well.
‘And I didn’t know how un-full it was until I met Amal. And then everything changed. And I was like, “Oh, actually, this has been a huge empty space.”‘
He explained that marriage changed him ‘because I’d never been in the position where someone else’s life was infinitely more important to me than my own. You know? And then tack on two more individuals, who are small and have to be fed.’
Speaking to People in 2020, the Batman & Robin star revealed he is yet to have an argument with his wife.
He gushed: ‘I feel very lucky in so many ways to have met her. We haven’t ever had an argument. You know, everybody’s been slammed together because of the coronavirus and a lot of friends’ relationships have been tested. For us, it’s been really easy.’
The smitten star noted that their shared passion for equality, philanthropy and humanitarian causes – the couple work jointly on human rights organization Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) – has only served to strengthen their relationship.
‘She succeeds in so many different ways and stands up for what she believes in,’ he said of his wife. ‘We didn’t fall in love because of our work, but it ended up being something unusual we [share]… We are really lucky and we know it.’
