The whole world was surprised to learn that Hollywood’s most eligible bachelor was off the market…and this time for good! George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin have been inseparable ever since they met in September 2013 and exchanged nuptials the following year. There’s been a lot of buzz about this relationship because people are curious to learn about the mysterious woman who managed to tie down the now 56-year-old bachelor. What’s even more perplexing is just how smitten the Money Monster actor is! We admire how these two somehow manage to remain in the public eye while still maintaining their privacy. On the brink of celebrating their third year anniversary, here’s a look at 11 things you probably didn’t know about George and Amal Clooney’s relationship!
11. How They Met
George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin reportedly met through a mutual friend in September 2013 at a charity fundraiser, but they didn’t take their relationship public until October 24 when they were photographed for the first time having dinner together in London. At the time this photograph was taken, Clooney’s rep denied reports that they were dating, but today, they are much more open about their relationship. In an interview with Ellen, George admitted that it was kind of love at first sight when he saw the now 39-year-old lawyer which is probably one of the reasons their relationship seemed to move so quickly. “It was one of those funny things. From the minute we met we just hit it off. From the minute we met, we sort of felt like we were gonna be together,” he said.
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10. She Turned Him Down at First
When George Clooney met the brilliant British lawyer at a charity event, he was completely taken with her beauty and quick wit, but Amal didn’t reciprocate the feelings. At least not at first. She did what most women do when they want to know how serious a man is — she played hard to get! When he offered up his number, she turned it down. A rumor has circulated that Clooney managed to get her contact information after the event, and sent her a “flirty” email. He used a pick up line that went something like this, “I think the reported hottest man in the world should meet with the hottest human rights lawyer in the world,” he wrote. According to a source at the Daily Mail, she refused him twice before accepting a date with the well known bachelor. “Clooney asked her out for dinner and she put him off twice, saying she was too busy, before accepting the third time,” said the source.
9. How He Popped the Question
George and Amal had only been dating for a few months before he asked for her hand in marriage. In an interview with Ellen, George revealed the entire proposal and admitted that despite planning it all out, things didn’t go exactly like he expected! “Everything was planned out and I’ve cooked dinner. And she comes in and she’s just come back from London. And usually she’ll dress up and now she’s like, ‘Maybe we’ll just order in.’ And I go, ‘No, no, no, I’ve made dinner,'” he said. When he finally got down on one knee, Amal didn’t seem to realize at first that he was proposing! “She’s like, ‘It’s a ring.’ Like, as if somebody had left it there some other time. I don’t know. And I’m doing all the moves you can do with my face. And I got down on my knee and said, ‘I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you.’ And she kept looking at the ring, and she was looking at me, and she was like, ‘Oh my God.’ And we now know, because there was a playlist, how long it actually took, and it was, like, 25 minutes,” he added. “Finally, I literally said, ‘Look, I hope the answer is yes, but I need an answer. I’m 52 and I could throw out my hip pretty soon. And she said ‘Oh, yes.’ And it worked out really well,” he joked. According to reports the ring cost over $750,000 and is a 7-carat emerald cut diamond set in a platinum band.
8. Standing Up for his Wife
In July 2014 the Daily Mail published a controversial article that irresponsibly claimed Amal’s mother, Baria, didn’t approve of her daughter’s wedding to George Clooney and that she had told “half of Beirut” that she opposed it on religious grounds because she is a member of Lebanon’s Druze community. After the story went to print, George Clooney came to the defense of his bride-to-be and her family by penning a strongly-worded statement to the American newspaper that read: “I want to speak to the irresponsibility of Monday’s Daily Mail report. I seldom respond to tabloids, unless it involves someone else and their safety or well being. The Daily Mail has printed a completely fabricated story about my fiancee’s mother opposing our marriage for religious reasons…It says they joke about traditions in the Druze religion that end up with the death of the bride. Let me repeat that: the death of the bride.” He then went on to poke holes in all of their claims to prove just how false they were and, when the publication retracted their statements, George Clooney publicly rejected their apology.
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7. The Star Studded Wedding
A few months after his proposal, Clooney announced at the Celebrity Fight Night charity event in Tuscany that he would soon be marrying Amal in Italy. “I met my lovely bride-to-be here in Italy, whom I will be marrying, in a couple of weeks, in Venice, of all places…I would just like to say to my bride-to-be, Amal, I love you very much and I can’t wait to be your husband,” he said. Not long after his announcement, the couple exchanged vows at the Aman Canal Grande hotel in Venice, Italy in front of their closest friends and family. The ceremony was officiated by George’s friend, Walter Veltroni, the former mayor of Rome. It was a weekend long event with a party before and after the sunset ceremony. There were several A-list celebrities in attendance like Matt Damon, Cindy Crawford, Emily Blunt, John Krasinski and Bono. Two days after the wedding, Amal and George had another ceremony, but this time at a municipal building in Venice during which they signed their marriage papers and made it officially legal. From then on Amal Alamuddin became known as Amal Clooney. Afterwards, they hopped in a boat, went up the canal with the paparazzi in tow and police boats leading the way.
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6. They Adopted a Dog Together
Not long after George and Amal celebrated their first wedding anniversary, they decided to expand their family! The happy couple visited the San Gabriel Valley Humane Society in San Gabriel, California on October 28, 2014 and adopted an adorable long-eared basset hound named Millie! The shelter where she was adopted shared the good news on their website. “It was a happy day at the shelter for Millie! She is a four-year-old Basset Hound mix with gorgeous looks that would land her on any ‘Hush Puppies’ commercial!” Millie was found a few months earlier looking for scraps outside of a local restaurant when she was taken in by the animal shelter. Her luck turned around when celebrity couple George and Amal showed up and welcomed her into their home. According to Us Weekly, George and Amal had been looking for a basset hound when they came across Millie on Petfinder. They brought their cocker spaniel Louie along with them when they went to meet Millie just to make sure the two dogs would get along.
5. She’s the Brains in the Relationship
Despite being an Oscar-winning actor, filmmaker, humanitarian and activist, George Clooney said that Amal Alamuddin most definitely holds the title of being the “brains in the relationship.” This barrister is a lawyer, activist and author who specializes in international law and human rights. She’s taken on many high profile cases and has even been chosen as Barbara Walter’s Most Fascinating Person in 2014. Some of Amal’s more well known clients include Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, the former prime minister of Ukraine and Canadian-Egyptian journalist Mohamed Fahmy. It’s no wonder Clooney is impressed with her! He’s even admitted that he feels like an “idiot” sometimes around her. He’s fully aware that when he’s out about about with her, he’s just her arm candy, and he’s totally okay with it. “[I feel] shiny and pretty. That’s mostly what I do now. The only way we resolve anything is by arm wrestling. That is my only chance of winning anything with her because if it’s an intellectual battle, I would lose. She’s the smart one in the family,” he said while on the Stephen Colbert show. Even though he might feel a little intellectually inferior beside her, it’s one of the many things that he admires about her.
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4. George is Completely Smitten with Her
In an interview with Esquire, George Clooney showed a softer side to him while talking about his new bride. “I’ve never been happier in a relationship by any stretch of the imagination. At 52 I found the love of my life and I’m really happy,” he said. Clooney has never held back about his feelings for Amal and repeatedly stated that she has changed his life. Which is true! The former bachelor, who had previously said he would never get married again, gushed about Amal during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes in 2015. He made sure to thank his newly wed wife and once again took the opportunity to let the world know just how happy he is to have met her: “Listen: It’s a humbling thing when you find someone to love – even better when you’ve been waiting your whole life. And when your whole life is 53 years, Amal, whatever alchemy that is that brought us together, I couldn’t be more proud to be your husband,” he said. When asked what he loves about Amal he replied: “She’s an amazing human being. And she’s caring. And she also happens to be one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. And she’s got a great sense of humor. There’s a number of reasons why,” he said.
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3. Joining Forces
The British lawyer Amal encourages and inspires George Clooney to fight for human rights issues alongside her. Amal was previously working on the political crisis in the Maldives where former president, Mohamed Nasheed, was sentenced to prison. Clooney has hinted that he and Amal will be joining forces by using his status and her knowledge to help others. “Amal and I are working on things now that matter to us on a whole other level, in a whole other world. If there’s a legacy for me, it’s yet to be written,” he said. Since their wedding, George and Amal have done a lot together to work on important issues. They’ve everything from meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss Syria’s refugee crisis (an issue Clooney has been fighting for, for a long time), to hosting a cocktail-and-dinner fundraiser for Hilary Clinton’s democratic campaign.
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2. Secret to Making Long Distance Work
George and Amal Clooney have some unique martial struggles that we can’t all relate to like fame, the paparazzi and tabloid gossip, but a more common relationship conflict is their long distance love. George is an A-list actor who is either traveling for various films or stationed in L.A. for red carpet events while Amal is an international human rights lawyer, so how do they do it? In an interview with Us Weekly, George shared the secret to making a long distance marriage work, and it’s not something we could probably all afford. “We have a rule whereby we are never apart for more than a week. We also stay in touch via social media, so we try to keep close even if we’re in different parts of the world.” In addition to having a ton of money at their disposal to fly around the world, these two have homes in all their major destinations where they can meet up and spend some time together out of the public eye. “We have a place in London now where it’s easy for us to spend a lot of time together and I can work on film projects — writing, reading scripts. Or we can go to Lake Como or spend time in Los Angeles when I need to have meetings for my acting work,” he said. “It takes some planning, but it’s actually been working out very well for us. What really brings us together as a couple is the fact that we’re good friends and we enjoy each other’s company.”
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1. Twins
In February 2017, couple announced that they were expecting not one, but two babies! Julie Chen, host of The Talk, was the first to break the news and then Matt Damon confirmed it, telling Entertainment Tonight Canada, “I was working with him last fall and he pulled me aside on set and I mean, I almost started crying. I was so happy for him.” In June 2017, Amal gave birth to a boy and a girl, Alexander and Ella, and according to a source, both she and George very very ‘hands-on’ as parents. “George and Amal are very hands-on,” a source told People. “The babies keep them very busy, but they both seem to love being parents.”
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