George Clooney is one of People Magazine’s People of the Year, and compared to the other cover subjects, George would NOT shut up. He went on and on and on. He’s been stuck at home with his wife and kids for months and it shows. It’s kind of sweet, actually. Dude truly loves his young children and his clever wife and he still seems surprised that his life turned out this way. George spoke about politics, nature vs nurture, his wife and tons more. Some highlights:
Growing up in the 1960s: “I grew up in a generation where all the people that mattered to us were being murdered, from Martin Luther King to Bobby and Jack Kennedy to Malcolm X and Medgar Evers, and all these things that counted were going on, with women’s rights, civil rights, the anti-Vietnam [war protests]. You had to be involved. My mother and father were involved, and we were [taught] it is your civic duty… I remember my father saying, ‘Don’t come back and look me in the eye unless you stand up to [bullies and racists].’ I’m glad to have been raised that way.”
He thinks America’s future is promising: “I’m always optimistic about this country. We fail a great deal, but I’ve been to so many countries that are really failed states, and they look to this country for leadership. We come up short a lot—race being our great original sin and clearly the one we’ve been the worst at—but we are in the constant process of trying to find a more perfect union… You can’t give up. I believe in the American spirit.” Clooney, who says he looks forward to “a return to civility” in 2021, remains determined to do his part. “I feel like I’ve been given a bit of a break, so I should be spending my time trying to give others a break.”
He’s lucky to have found Amal: “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. She succeeds in so many different ways and stands up for what she believes in. 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.”
He hopes Ella & Alexander pick similar fights: He hopes they’ll “pick the same kind of fights. I hope that will be my wife’s and my legacy to our children. It just means standing up for things you believe in, standing up for equality. Who could be against equality?”
On the lockdown: “I haven’t been working as much as I had before we had the kids, so I had every intention of focusing on them [anyway], putting them to bed at night and stuff, so we didn’t need to be forced into that by a pandemic… I’m lucky because our kids are 3, so I don’t have to homeschool trigonometry. I can survive with just spending time with them.”
How his life has changed since becoming a dad. “Yeah, the times I used to be able to sit back and read a book, that’s done for a while. Like I was watching game six of the World Series, the winning game for the Dodgers, and my son had a dream that a dinosaur with fire was coming after him. It was just when Mookie Betts hit the home run, and I’m trying to comfort him. So things have changed a little bit.”
Watching his kids’ personalities develop: “It’s funny, they’re twins, but they’re very different… Ella is very shy around adults. We have a Saint Bernard puppy, Rosie, and she’s like 125 lbs. of sheer energy. She got stung by a bee, and now when we walk the dog and hikers go by, Ella kind of hides her face while Alexander walks right up and says, ‘Rosie got stung by a bee.’ He explains it to every single person… You learn so much with twins because you’re raising them both at the same time, born the same day, but you realize how little it has to do with you. They were the person they were going to be when they were born. Now all your hope is to just kind of guide them along in the right direction.”
He also told a gross story about teaching his kids the “Nutella in the diaper” prank and I can’t with that – Amal needs to shut that sh-t down. Sometimes I worry about Amal – stuck in LA with two children and a husband who teaches their three-year-olds to put Nutella in their diapers. As for his hope that his kids turn out to be politically and socially engaged… maybe, but at least one of them will probably end up being a model-deejay. I remember Angelina Jolie saying something very similar to George’s comments on kids being who they are when they’re born. Perhaps it’s something particular with parents of twins?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid, Avalon Red.
He sounds pretty content. Age three is a pretty optimal age for being home 24/7 with kids during a pandemic. He also sounds like maybe he’s thinking of running for office? At least that’s how this read to me.
As a parent working from home with a 2 and 3 year old I DISAREE STRONGLY.
lol, i’m kidding. He’s absolutely right, I don’t have to deal with homeschooling. And they’ll be too young to remember. As long as all the excess TV time doesn’t melt their brain……
I love his first comment about the 60’s. I never thought of it that way.
I married late, so both of us are mature and content with our career. We never fight, should i be worried.(not)
I hear you, RiRi, lol. My kids are 19 months apart so I remember the exhaustion of those ages so very well. But honestly I also remember those days, with the kiddos’ sweetness and energy and curiosity about life, as some of the best ever. They’re in college now so I dodged having to deal with pandemic school support. Hang in there, as the cliche goes, the time will pass quicker than you can imagine right now.
3 year olds that still have nap time are a good age. 3 year olds that don’t have nap time are a bit much. Has anyone else noticed that their 3-5 year old child is just incapable of not constantly speaking? Even when they’re playing by themselves in an empty room, there is a constant narration going on: they’re narrating what they’re doing, all the toys are talking to each other, even inanimate toys like the tea pot says things like “oh I’m so happy that I’m full of tea now. Mr. Cup, should I poor some tea into you? Then maybe we can go and sit on the coffee table.” They literally talk from the minute they wake up to the minute they fall asleep. All through meal times they have things to tell you, even if it’s literally the same thing over and over again: “this is very good macaroni and cheese. I like macaroni and cheese” x35. Andwhen you’re driving them somewhere there’s this constant little voice chattering in the backseat and if you’re on the highway you can’t really hear them, but that doesn’t seem to deter them. You hear them chatting to themselves in their bed at night after you’ve tucked them in.
thanks to Amy Too for this charming description of a 3 year old’s inner/outer monologue, sounds like you have a really sweet imaginative little person w you, so adorable 🙂 made my day.
@Amy too- Yes! I was coming to comment on my five year old twins and caught your comment. They seriously Connor stop talking to save their lives and it has driven me insane. Especially during meal times when they take an hour to eat because they are spending most of it talking about nothing!
As for his comments about his twins I totally relate. It’s crazy to look at them and see two people who have literally been together since conception and how absolutely different they have been from birth. It’s not like I treat them or even have the time to treat them differently so being raised in the same environment, by the same people, the same way, and they couldn’t be more different.
My daughter when she was that age could not stop talking, on a road trip once I said you don’t have to talk all the time sweetie and she said, mom if I don’t talk I can’t breathe, it was so funny, she pretty much talked from 2 to 12 them she got shy for about 5 years.
As long as one of them doesn’t turn into the next Chet Hanks, it’s all good.
Oh God….Chet Haze. Thankfully he seems to have calmed down a bit. Then there’s Redmond O’Neal…facing attempted murder charges along with a string of other criminal charges.
I don’t trust couples who say they don’t fight. Everyone fights – friends, siblings, couples – and it’s not a BAD thing. If he said “We’ve never had a screaming match where we didn’t talk for 2 days afterwards,” I’d buy it, because he settled down at a more mature age, but if they don’t fight it’s because they don’t speak ever.
I know what you mean, but my family and my relationships with family and husband are all pretty peaceful. I had a screaming match with my sister about 30 years ago. She shouted at our dad when he was insensitive with mum after she had a minor car accident, that was probably about 20 years ago. Sometimes I get irritated with my husband over politics or financial planning. Oh! I completely lost my temper with a guy at work a few weeks back, something I have done only a couple of times in my whole adult life, but, on reflection, that was probably a COVID stress and grief response. Apparently I am very scary when I blow my top, which I found somehow gratifying, especially when the consensus was that he deserved it.
I think people have different definitions of what “arguing” is. I’ve gotten into disagreements and quick, heated moments with friends, family, etc. But I’m in my late 20s and I’ve never had an out-and-out argument with someone. I think of that as raised voices, crying, storming off, etc. I’m non-confrontational and do everything I can to avoid that. I’d never yell at someone or start a fight when I can just try talking about it.
Yes, I totally agree! I guess I should’ve addded that my definition of fighting is disagreeing/maturely debating something. So I hear what everyone is saying. Also, kudos to so many healthy relationships on this board 🙂 it’s one of the reasons I like this site – well-rounded people with reasonable, rational outlooks. It’s refreshing to find on the internet these days.
My husband and I don’t fight. We’ve had maybe three over 25 years. We disagree all the time, and we bicker, but we don’t fight.
same. almost 20 years in. zero fights. Also, I never once heard my parents fight. So either they never fought or always did it away from us.
my husband of 28years and i never fight…we are both very opinionated too!-we laugh a lot..at ourselves and each other…
guys, what do you mean by ‘fight’? Just coming out of (what I’m learning now) as an unhealthy relationship, so would love to know your definition of ‘fight’, thank you!
I thought it was BS too until I met my husband. We don’t fight or argue. Any snide comment is quickly defused and we laugh. Sometimes it just works that way.
Glad to hear I’m not the only one!! We have been married nearly 8 years (I’m in my 40s, he’s 50s), and literally, the only time we have ever even snapped at each other have been during the 3 occasions we have had deaths in the family. I come from a family that fights loudly and often, so having this wonderful dynamic in my marriage is heavenly.
I would have said the same, until I met my husband. We don’t fight, we don’t argue, and spending all this time together during lockdown has been a real joy. I was married before and had come to believe what people always tell you, that relationships are “hard work” and that everybody argues. They’re not when you’re married to the right person. I wish someone had told me this before.
In ALL of my relationships there has NEVER been fighting.
Why not?
Because I am not a fighting person, and I do not pick people who are either.
It can be trusted when ti is said: some people know how to communicate neutrally, know when to wait before speaking, know not to raise their voices etc.
I grew up in a home full of violence and I learned that absolutely none of it was ever necessary. Its not normal to yell or even fight. At least, it doesnt ever have to be normal.
But thats my position.
That’s wonderful you’ve had this dynamic, but I think it’s also about finding the right person.
My husband’s 1st marriage was not to last and he learned. My last relationship was nothing, but arguments. And when he and I met it was easy.
As others have said it’s about knowing yourself and being comfortable in that. And being with someone else like that on a compatible level. Then a marriage becomes easy. And admittedly they and others have less financial worries and that does help immensely.
Some couples are so aligned that even when they don’t, it’s not such a diversion as to be worth expressing. My parents are this way. 40 years and they’ve had exactly ONE argument regarding my dad refusing to get his prostrate examined. Mum won.
I’ve never haf a fight with a sibling since elementary school. Never had a fight with friends, boyfriends, parents…. I’m not combative and spend time with people who also aren’t combative. If I don’t agree with someone, it’s sheer ego to try to change their mind. They can believe what they want and I believe what I want. Done.
George and Amal are both very articulate and basically talk for a living. They’re communicators. I can see them not fighting but constantly talking stuff through. And they’re grown ups.
To be honest, it annoys me when people say stuff like this. Every couple is different. Me and my man very very very rarely fight. The few times we did, it was over huge important things, and we got over it fast.
It’s definitely not because we don’t speak, we speak a lot and enjoy each other’s company. We are just very good at communicating and listening and not letting anything fester. Sure we disagree sometimes, but we never fight.
Ah. My husband and I don’t fight either. We have disagreements and differences of opinion, but not fights. We are always squarely in each others’ corners. I come from a difficult childhood and frequent fights, so this new way of being is wonderful to me. My husband is very kind, even in the small, day to day things. And I’m very fortunate.
In a thread where most of you don’t argue, I’ll say my husband and I argue, and not infrequently. We approach things differently and are both stubborn. We are WORKING on trying to discuss things more neutrally, because I don’t want us to be a bad example for our grandchildren. That said, we also laugh more than any couple I’ve ever met, are completely devoted and faithful, and this spring will be our 40th anniversary.
*Never* had an argument? Okay.
Also don’t know how to take the never fight claim. My partner is the love of my life and we’re in agreement 95% of the time, but there’s always the 5% where one of you has a sensitive topic that the other doesn’t see eye to eye on—you do something, the other person feels hurt whatever. You discuss it, and you move on. Couples can have every emotion but you work through it together. It’s really healthy to be able to express yourself in that way and learn conflict resolution. Impossible to be aligned on every topic all the time or one of you isn’t being honest to yourself and your partner
I think when both partners have high emotional intelligence this ceases to be an issue. I believe that’s the case with my parents. Also, when both partners high self esteem, they are harder to wound and also have a better appreciation for their differences so that it’s never a disagreement.
I think it depends on personality. My parents have been married almost 50 years and they have never argued with each other. They have had disagreements on things but my dad has never raised his voice and while my mom will get loud, she doesn’t yell at him. If they both had her temper maybe they would fight, but he’s pretty calm and she doesn’t keep a grudge. I had one set of grandparents who did fight a lot and probably would have gotten divorced if they had been born a generation later. So I am inclined to believe this.
I think they both got married when they were ready for it. They both had time to live and realise themselves beforehand.
I believe they’re very happy and content for this reason.
Oh and also the nannies and luxury lifestyle is the other reason why they never fight.
Yes, that’s a good point. Take away money and housework and exhaustion and life is a lot smoother.
I agree, they were both ready, and it sounds like it’s working well.
I believe him. And I think when you have that you really don’t care who believes it. That’s so irrelevant.
Agree. They sound compatible and also old enough to appreciate it.
Amal seems very chilled out and zen and George is an older guy who’s probably grown out of youthful hot headedness, so I can believe they don’t have heated arguments. Plus she’s a super smart lawyer who probably knows how to resolve conflicts without emotion. They seem well suited to each other.
It shocks me their kids are only 3. I would’ve guessed 5 or 6. I feel like George and Amal have been out of the news forever, but I guess it hasn’t been that long.
This sounds like a perfectly nice interview. I’m guessing the fact that they’ve met later in life means they know what they want and who they are so maybe that’s why they don’t really fight. Every time I see him in an interview people always point out how amazing his wife is and he seems equally amazed to be married to her. It’s sweet.
It’s nice to have so much time go by between interviews, articles, etc.
She seems clever, confident and classy. It is not like some other actors who are married to women i don’t know what they talk about because they seem boring. I realy believe him that is happy to have found her and when you met someone later in life, you know better what you want
When you have one child and become pregnant with the second, you are always shocked later that the second child is nothing like the first. I think when you have twins, this dynamic is just obvious from the beginning.
My brothers are fraternal twins and there are no two people on this earth more opposite. The only thing that they have in common are family members and twin loyalty.
“Who could be against equality?”
George… where you been the past four years?!
Elizabeth this is exactly what I was about to say! I liked a lot of what he said here, but that…my god, after not only the past four years but all of the upheaval over the summer and the behavior that we’ve seen MAGATs so proudly and boldly displaying — clearly there are still an *alarming* number of Americans who are staunchly against equality.
There are people in cages in this country right now for god’s sake and about 40% of the country wants it to stay that way.
I took that statement as him acknowledging that fact, like “who could be against equality?” and then the unsaid part is “we have a lot of work to do because so many still are.” I don’t think he has any misapprehensions about what we are up against.
Regarding his kids, I have two, and they’re five years apart. They look exactly like each other (and like their dad, my genes just gave up.) Two more different people could not exist in the world, but they love each other (and us!) The only thing they have in common is a shared love of talking. I firmly believe that they are who they are from birth, it’s just our job as parents to help them become the best version of themselves. I am acutely aware that they’re not “mine,” they’re themselves.
“……you realize how little it has to do with you. They were the person they were going to be when they were born. Now all your hope is to just kind of guide them along in the right direction.”
I wish more parents realized this. Children are their own people.
Can I just say that I saw George on Jimmy Kimmel last week, and he is so charming and funny. But, more importantly, he’s kind of got his hotness back (for his age). Remember how sallow his skin was looking for a couple of years? He’s definitely very lean, also. Maybe he’s feeling better healthwise.
People seem to have different definitions of fighting. I’m sure they disagree at times or he irritates her at times, but they just walk away and don’t turn it into something bigger. You can go off and fume privately and it’s over. No fight started.
George on Jimmy Kimmel’s show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTDkfp5XdGA
That’s so great for them. 🙄 My husband and I are barely holding it together and our kids are 9 and 12. Also, 3-year-olds suck. To say otherwise is disingenuous.
Can confirm the three year old bit. My second turned 3 in quarantine and I’m ready to hang myself.
Huge eye roll over here for the no fighting comment. I could say the same thing about my husband and me if we had the money to cover our expenses. The pandemic has hit us hard, and he had to take a job over 1,000 miles away. I work with major medical issues (going on my 3rd major surgery for large masses that cause pain and issues with my kidneys + bladder) while raising 4 kids. We are great together, but added stress, no money, medical bills, plus a house falling apart around us makes every day difficult. So I am happy that they don’t have issues (I would never wish this on anyone), but it is because they are set financially for life it does make things easier for them.
I am grateful for my children, and being able to spend more time with them is truly a gift. But, I am just tired of people with a lot of money, help, and so much more, saying how wonderful and easy this pandemic has been on them.
I try to remember this point when reading celebrities talk about their routines. Most can pick and choose what daily responsibilities they do. He and his wife likely have all types of domestic and childcare help.
Hopefully next year will bring better times for you and your family. Please hang in there.
Lots of struggling couples do not fight and plenty of the most privileged ones do. This isn’t about resources, it’s about their temperament, their compatibility score and of course emotional intelligence of both individuals.
Eh, I’d say resources can absolutely play a rule in marriages and keeping them low key. There’s a reason why money is a major reason couples divorce, and poverty adds a whole load of stresses the wealthy don’t have. It’s just that it isn’t a sure bet for a happy marriage if instability exists within the relationship itself.
These two have privilege, and that certainly removes a lot of problems for them, but the fact that they aren’t fighting suggests they also are just fortunate to be emotionally compatible. So…it’s a mixture of things, really, and a lot of boils down to just luck in terms of environment and partner.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard had no money issues. She had a penthouse for the sole purpose of storing her clothes! Money doesn’t guarantee a conflict free relationship.
I can believe they’ve never had a fight because she is a lawyer. Never argue with a lawyer. They are trained to argue. You’ll rarely win.
I’m a little interested about the “never fight” comment too. Ex and I rarely fought. When we did, it was usually me in frustration because he never wanted to talk about anything. So things would boil over and I’d lash out. Things seemed ok otherwise, though. He left at the top of the first shutdown and I found out he’d been cheating for some time. Their story might be different (I sure hope so). But I cringe when I hear someone saying that.
Honestly, my friends who are married have had one argument in the eight years I’ve known them. They just…are very laid back and have good communication skills. If something bothers them, they bring it up and hash it out before it’s a legitimate fight. They aren’t wealth privileged, either – just very good at being responsible with money and were fortunate to avoid massive school debt. (He’s in trades, and she managed to get a respiratory therapy degree for pretty cheap.)
Granted, they don’t have kids, and that massively changes the dynamics of household, but…some people just legitimately get lucky and find a highly compatible partner.
This is me and my husband, too. He’s not a yeller or a fighter or a hothead at all. He won’t talk to me when I’m screaming and going crazy. He always tells me to relax, get my thoughts together, and let’s discuss whatever it is like adults. And, truthfully, that’s how it should be. You shouldn’t be fighting or screaming with your spouse/partner. It’s not healthy and it’s not the norm.
I never had a fight in my adult life with anybody. Disagreements, sure but fight no.
Everyone is wired differently.
I think it depends on how you define “fight.” I don’t think that civil disagreements where you calmly discuss your differences are “fights” but some people might. I’m sure they disagree from time to time, probably very infrequently, and probably very calmly. My husband and I rarely “fight” (meaning yelling, hurt feelings, not speaking, etc.) and when we do, there is almost always an underlying stressor at the heart of it. We are 15 years and two kids into a marriage that I think we would both describe as very easy to maintain. I think it’s healthy to talk about your differences, but if you’re doing that all of the time and/or having screaming matches on the reg (Dax and Kristin, I miiiiight be looking at you) then you’re probably married to the wrong person.
Amal can keeps George I don’t know why I’ve always found him insufferable from the Facts of life onwards but I’ll take that questionable plaid outfit of hers.
Of course he didn’t shut up – extroverts are probably dying for human interaction at this point. It’s like finding somebody who’s been lost in the mountains for a week living off berries and squirrel and treating them to a burger joint on the way home. 😂
I think he’s being relatively honest about the fighting. There’s a lot you can avoid with good communication if your situation is relatively stable otherwise. I think all couples have minor disputes, and I get that sometimes there are times and places for a major fight to occur every so often, but I do like of side eye the ones that have constant, endless drama going on, particularly with kids in the picture. Like…what’s going on guys? If there aren’t external variables like poverty and/or mental/physical health issues at play, you need to look seriously at why you’re making life harder for each other.
Mr. Jaded and I have had a grand total of one fight in 6 years. It was because his BPD ex-wife was constantly harassing us – bitchy emails and letters, sending mystery packages to him that he just threw into the bottom of his closet, panic phone-calls in the middle of the night. He just ignored it but I finally cracked and said “You can’t keep ignoring this, it’s not working. Get it stopped NOW.” We wrangled for a while but he finally took my advice, blocked her phone numbers and email, sent back all the shit she’d sent him unopened and peace has reigned ever since. Like others have said, it’s all in how you’re wired. If we disagree on something we discuss it. Being locked up with him in the pandemic has been a joy and, if anything, has brought us closer.
Well good for them. But having lots of money, a huge house and (I’m guessing) some sort of help does take a ton of stress off of young families. Meanwhile my husband and I are trying to raise a toddler with zero help, run a business from home with internet that barely works and are constantly in each other’s way in our small house during a pandemic (and with the worst healthcare plan that pays for basically nothing). We’ve had some pretty nasty fights as have most of my coupled friends. Don’t feel bad if you’ve had some fights, living a life of privilege does make things easier for people. But I do think they are a lovely family but I am side eyeing the no fights comment.
I think they don’t fight because their marriage is not a marriage, it is an “agreement” that is convenient and beneficial to both of them.
These two have zero chemistry and I never bought that they were a legit couple.
I agree
I believe him. Also, while people make good points that money reduces some of the issues people typically fight about, celebrity likely increases others. My fiance is handsome, but hooking up with him wouldn’t be a “story” in the way many women would view hooking up with George. Or Amal! Lots of people would shoot their shot, not caring that’s he’s married. For a shot at some fame, some money, many even more career opportunities in the industry. That’s a lot of temptation. And even if your partner is true blue, the barrage of potential side chicks would be dispiriting. I’m glad I don’t have to deal with that.
I dunno sometimes it just works and it’s easy. Mr C and I rarely fight. When we do we tend to joke each other out of it. It never gets to a screaming match. I’ve had other relationships that were much harder work. This one is more peaceful.
Which is good as we have triplets! It is amazing watching them develop and grow – their bond where they knew each other before they were even born. When they moved from incubators (they were born super early) to a cot the first thing they did was reach for each other. And poke their siblings in the eye!
So I’m on board with Mr Clooney
Sounds to me like George is preparing the way for a presidential run.
Except at H and M’s wedding according to gossip blogs. Lainey had a story about it.
This is BS. People in marriages with or without kids disagree. That’s normal and that’s ok. It’s how you disagree that’s important….