Odd Facts You Didn't Know About George Clooney's Marriage
George Clooney, legendary long-time bachelor, swore he'd never marry again. Then Amal Clooney (née Alamuddin) waltzed into his world and threw the actor — and everyone else in Tinseltown — for a loop.
Rumors swirled that the couple was dating in September 2013, and though they were publicly spotted together in October that same year, George Clooney's reps vehemently denied the relationship. The unconfirmed duo became cozier as the weeks went by, and the pair was spotted again in February 2014, this time packing on the PDA at a White House screening of The Monuments Men. Even when it became clear the couple was a couple, the movie star never let on that he was head-over-heels, Tom Cruise-couch-jumping, crazy in love about Alamuddin.
Hollywood's notoriously unattached bachelor finally popped the question in April 2014. A 53-year-old Clooney and 36-year-old Alamuddin wed the following September and have been inseparable since — but that doesn't mean they've been exempt from the sort of oddities that have defined their relationship from the get-go. Let's take a closer look.
The Clooneys' government connections
George Clooney is no stranger to politics, and being a humanitarian, he's aligned himself with initiatives connected to American presidents past and present. Meanwhile, Amal Clooney is a British-Lebanese lawyer and human rights activist, often representing high-profile clients affiliated with government entities, including controversial Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange and the revolutionary former Prime Minister of the Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko. In 2014, she was appointed to the UK Attorney General's international law panel. Both George and Amal even had their own bouts of face time with former President Barack Obama. The A-list actor has even hooked up with Obama privately to shoot hoops.
George Clooney battles the press over his wife
George Clooney once penned an open letter, published by USA Today, to dispute media claims that his mother-in-law despised him. Clooney's ire was directed at the Daily Mail, which published an article in 2014 alleging Amal Clooney's mother was vehemently opposed to her daughter marrying the American celebrity on religious grounds and believed her daughter risked being "cast out of [their] community" if she went through with the nuptials.
The actor's lengthy open letter said the story was completely fabricated and morally and ethically egregious. "The irresponsibility in this day and age to exploit religious differences where none exist, is at the very least negligent, and more appropriately, dangerous," he wrote. "We have family members all over the world, and the idea that someone would inflame any part of that world for the sole reason of selling papers should be criminal."
The Daily Mail published an apology: "We accept Mr. Clooney's assurance that the story is inaccurate and we apologize to him, Miss Amal Alamuddin, and her mother, Baria, for any distress caused."
The movie star also battled Hello! magazine over a story claiming the Clooneys made their long-distance marriage work by utilizing social media and by following a rule "whereby [they're] never apart for more than a week." Once again, he issued a vociferous rebuttal and the magazine apologized. "Hello magazine has printed an 'EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW' with me that has been widely picked up and reprinted. Outlets like Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, The Sun, and The Evening Standard have all printed my exclusive interview and credited Hello! Magazine," he said. "The problem is that I have not given an interview to Hello! magazine and the quotes attributed to me are not accurate. In my experience, being misquoted is not unusual, but to have an 'exclusive interview' completely fabricated is something new. And a very disturbing trend," he stated.
We see a trend with you, George Clooney, and we'll tread lightly as we continue to dissect your relationship.
George Clooney's marriage proposal was horrible
You'd think the man who's played devastatingly dashing roles in movies would be a regular Casanova in real life too, but not according to the story behind his marriage proposal. In an interview with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, George Clooney revealed that his magical moment was cringeworthy.
He told DeGeneres he cooked a romantic dinner for his beloved, but what followed was a trainwreck. "I've got it all set up," Clooney recalled. "Timed out and [our] song is coming, and she gets up to go wash the dishes, which she's never done. I'm like, 'What are you doing?' [She] comes back in, and finally I said, 'You know, I blew out the candle' and I said, 'I think the lighter's in the box behind you.' And she reaches around and she pulls out the box, and I've got just the ring sitting in there and she pulls it out and she looks at it and she's like, 'It's a ring' — like as if somebody had left it there some other time."
Though Amal Clooney didn't realize that the ring was that of the engagement ilk, Clooney tried to save the moment by making an array of romantic faces. He finally dropped down to one knee and said, "I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life without you." George Clooney told DeGeneres, "She kept looking at the ring and she was looking at me and she was like 'Oh my God.'" He said it took her about 25 minutes to answer the big question. The actor recalled telling her, "Look, I hope the answer is yes, but I need an answer — I'm 52 and I could throw out my hip pretty soon."
No, George Clooney doesn't miss his bachelor days
George Clooney seems to have settled into married life nicely, which is wonderful, yet surprising given his once outspoken views on marriage and bachelorhood. After being voted People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 2006, he addressed his so called vow to "never marry again." Clooney said, "I haven't softened my position," reminding folks that he was married once before to actress Talia Balsam. A new Mrs. Clooney is "not something I'm looking out for," he said. "The truth is, I'm really happy."
"I haven't had aspirations in that way, ever," Clooney told Esquire in 2014. "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."
Yet, in a 2015 interview with Harper's Bazaar, after marrying Amal, Clooney made clear that he's better off now than he was flying solo. "I'm a much happier person and we have a very happy life," he said. "We enjoy many of the same things and I very much enjoy the projects that she takes on because they have real consequence ... I have someone who I can talk to about anything, and someone who I care more about than I've cared about anybody."
Swooning yet?
Oops, George Clooney might be a spendthrift
With a reported net worth $500 million, George Clooney undeniably lives a charmed life. From lavish vacations in Como, Italy, to his numerous estates, the actor isn't adverse to spending a pretty penny on the finer things. But does he spend too much? A source cited by Star magazine in August 2019 believes the answer is yes.
"He thinks nothing of dropping tens of thousands at a time on designer suits, jewelry, antiques," the insider alleged (via Business Times). "It's gotten way out of control and Amal's grossed out by it. [He's] so used to his Hollywood-type girlfriends demanding nothing but luxury over the years, he assumed Amal would require the same." Apparently, Amal Clooney isn't thrilled with her famous husband's purchases because they clash with "her life's work" of humanitarian efforts. Since Amal is an international human rights lawyer, this actually kind of tracks.
Of course, we have to take this report with a big 'ol grain of salt, especially since the couple's rep bluntly told Gossip Cop that it was "garbage" and "obviously not true." We're still curious, however, as to how this claim became a thing in the first place.
Amal Clooney banned George from doing what?
Some fans might remember George Clooney's harrowing motorcycle accident that occurred on the Italian island of Sardinia in 2018. "I hit [the station wagon] at 70 miles per hour, so it was bad," the actor told The Hollywood Reporter. "I split my helmet in half. It knocked me out of my shoes. I was hit hard. I was just waiting for the switch to turn off because I broke his windshield with my head." Yikes.
Luckily, Clooney and pal Grant Heslov, who was also involved in the car crash, survived relatively unscathed. The downside? They're not allowed to ride bikes ever again. "Grant's off," the movie star told Us Weekly. "We screwed up and our wives were like, 'You can never get on a bike again.'"
We don't blame Amal Clooney for expressing concern about George's bike riding activities (they have two kids, after all), but it's arguably odd for a person to ban their spouse from an activity. It should have been more of a conversation, no? Then again, we weren't there, and this couple has to do what's right for their relationship. And if that's giving up motorcycles, then so be it.
ISIS has jeopardized the Clooneys' well-being
As an international human rights lawyer, Amal Clooney works for clients who've been assaulted by terrorist organizations. One of these groups includes ISIS, which she accused of committing an "epidemic of sexual violence" in Iraq and Syria. Given the gravity of Amal's work, it's no surprise security has been an issue for herself and her family. George Clooney opened up about this exact problem in a May 2019 conversation with The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, stating: "Everything changes when you have two kids on how you have to protect them. My wife is taking the first case against ISIS to court, so we have plenty of issues — real, proper security issues — that we have to deal with on a fairly daily basis."
Wow, we can't even begin to imagine what George and Amal Clooney have been going through. And although this isn't exactly an "odd" fact about their marriage, not many celebrity couples have to worry about their well-being thanks to ISIS, right? Here's to hoping the Clooney family remains safe throughout this ordeal.