Amal Clooney has spoken candidly about the significant adjustments she made to her personal life following her marriage to actor George Clooney. The human rights lawyer addressed the profound shift in her public and private spheres during a recent appearance at the Cartier Women’s Initiative event.
Balancing Public and Private Lives
Reflecting on her life before meeting George in 2013, Amal explained how she previously maintained a clear distinction between her professional endeavors and her personal life. “I used to have my work life and my personal life, and they could look quite different, and I was able to not have them mix,” she stated during her speech. “And then I got married, and that changed quite a lot.”
Initially, Amal admitted to feeling a constraint on her personal choices due to her public profile. “And at first I was kind of conscious of that one-dimensional view where I felt, well, I can’t be seen wearing this dress, or doing this, because I’m in front of a judge on Monday.” However, she ultimately concluded that prioritizing her family and relationship was more important than these perceived limitations.
“But 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,” she explained. “So I wouldn’t allow that factor to stop me from doing things that were important for my family or my relationship.”
Protecting Children from the Spotlight
Amal and George are parents to eight-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella. The couple has made a concerted effort to shield their children from media attention and paparazzi. George Clooney himself has emphasized the importance of this privacy.
“I have a goal of trying to protect, I don’t want pictures of my kids,” George told GQ previously. “We deal in very serious subject matters, with very serious bad guys, and we don’t want to have photos of our kids out there. So we have to work hard at trying to stay private, and it’s tricky, as you can imagine.”
Home Policies for Privacy
To further safeguard their family’s privacy, Amal and George have implemented a policy at their home: guests are asked to hand over their phones upon arrival to prevent any unauthorized photographs of their children from being taken.
“Creating private moments and spaces is becoming increasingly difficult,” Amal shared with Glamour. “But that’s also why we entertain a lot at home. I now have a phone basket that I use to take everyone’s phones away.”
She added, “It’s important to get that balance where you have time alone with your family and with your friends, where people feel like you can have a safe and frank exchange. And I would say becoming a parent means you’re more troubled by some of the intrusions. We do the best we can to minimize any impact on our children. We don’t put our children out there. We’ve never put their photo out there or anything like that.”
The Clooney Family Estates
The family of four resides primarily at George and Amal’s expansive 18th-century chateau located near Provence, France. This estate boasts amenities such as a vineyard, swimming pool, tennis courts, and a guest house. The couple also maintains properties in England, on Lake Como in Italy, and in California and New York.
