Being one half of a legendary power couple is busy business for George and Amal Clooney. With both of them at the top of their careers and with separate staff tending to their packed diaries, insiders say that the pair are apart more than ever – with no course correction in sight.
“Work is something George really enjoys,” says an insider close to the 63-year-old actor and producer. “He’s a perfectionist and demands the same high standard from those who work for him. Amal is very much the same, in that she loves her job and sees it as being a real calling.”
Amal may have taken her husband’s surname after they got married in September 2014, but as a leading human rights barrister and activist, she is a noted changemaker in her own right. The couple launched their charity, the Clooney Foundation For Justice, in 2016, but still operate largely independently.
All this, we’re told, isn’t a particularly glaring problem for the couple, who share twins Ella and Alexander, seven. In fact, we’re told they’re both on the same page when it comes to their domestic set-up, with neither of them seeing much need to change the status quo, especially since they are often under the same roof, even if they’re working on separate projects.
The family split their time between their villa in Lake Como, Italy, their wine estate in Brignoles, France, their mansion in Berkshire, UK, and their homes in LA and Mexico, and – while George and Amal do travel separately for work – the fact that they’re often only in different rooms of the same property does still keep them connected.
“One of the big reasons that Amal and George work so well together is because they’re independently successful and secure in their individual fields,” our source explains.
“They also have great nannies and their houses are like mini resorts. Most days, they get together in the evening for dinner and a catch-up, but – if they need to work into the night or head off to a business meeting – that’s not something they sweat about. It’s an open joke among their friends that George and Amal live these incredible separate lives under the same roof, but they just take it in their stride and are content with how things are.”
Despite having more than enough wealth and success to last them both a lifetime (especially since George sold his tequila brand Casamigos for $1bn in 2017) it’s clear neither he or Amal have any desire to change the arrangement anytime soon.
Now, as they approach their tenth anniversary in September, it’s unlikely we’ll see either one of them compromise their work commitments for the sake of the other’s schedule. Then again, considering how independent they both are, we doubt they’d want it any other way.
As far as the Clooneys are concerned, they’re strong together, strong apart. With luxury homes, staff and two children, they know they have each other’s backs, even if they’re not standing directly behind them.