The “Ocean’s Eleven” star and the human rights lawyer tied the knot in 2014.

George Clooney’s wife Amal admits life was ‘easier’ before marrying the Oscar winner

The "Ocean's Eleven" star and the human rights lawyer tied the knot in 2014.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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June 26, 2026 7:48 p.m. ET

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Amal and George Clooney in October. Credit:

Karwai Tang/WireImage

- George Clooney's wife Amal says she struggled to navigate life in the spotlight with him.

- By the time they coupled up in 2013, she was an international human rights lawyer while he was an Oscar winner.

- They choose to live in France with their 9-year-old twins.

Falling in love with a movie star, especially one as famous as George Clooney, didn't make his wife Amal's life any less stressful, that's for sure.

"It was easier when I could decide what kind of exposure I got," she said at a recent Cartier Dialogues event in Bangkok*,* per PEOPLE. "It was something new to navigate."

At that point, she was a successful international human rights lawyer, and he was a huge movie star.

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"I used to have my work life and my personal life, and they could look quite different," she said, "and I was able to not have them mix… and then I got married and that changed quite a lot."

When they met in 2013, he was known worldwide for movies such as *Ocean's Eleven*, *Michael Clayton*, and *The Descendants*.

There was little reprieve from the cameras when he was in public. It was a lot for his new love to handle.

George and Amal Clooney during their wedding festivities in 2014.

PIERRE TEYSSOT/AFP via Getty Images

"At first I was kind of conscious of that one-dimensional view where I felt like, well, I can't be seen wearing this dress or doing this because I'm in front of a judge on Monday," she said. "But you know it just doesn't matter as much as living your life, and, ultimately, if you're good at what you do, that is going to shine through or not."

Amal didn't allow her self-consciousness to keep her from "doing things that were important for my family or for my relationship."

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The couple continues to make appearances at high-profile events, such as galas hosted by their Clooney Foundation for Justice, which provides free legal aid to defend free speech and women's rights in more than 40 countries.

Meanwhile, they live on a farm in France, where they're raising their 9-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander.

The producer of films such as *Money Monster* and *Argo* told *Esquire** *in October that he thinks the children are benefiting from the country life.

"A good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid I hated the whole idea of it," the actor said. "But now, for them, it's like—they’re not on their iPads, you know? They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life. I was worried about raising our kids in L. A., in the culture of Hollywood. I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life."

In France, Clooney said, "they kind of don't give a s--- about fame. I don't want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don't want them being compared to somebody else's famous kids."

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