Despite having five years of marriage under their belts, George and Amal Clooney have been plagued by divorce rumours in the past year. But even with the obvious pressures of their high-powered careers, the pair have kept an united front.
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Now an exclusive insider tells New Idea the $750 million Hollywood super-couple have managed to bolster their relationship by coming up with an agreement they are both said to be following.
“Divorce isn’t an option to either of them, so they had to find a way to make this work. Earlier this year, they sat down and figured out a list of rules that would make them both feel more comfortable and less pressured to live a life that didn’t suit them,” explains the source.
“They have come to appreciate that they’re two very different people, but instead of fighting or trying to impose their will on each other, they’ve found a way to back off in some areas and compromise in others.”
There had been reports that the duo have been living increasingly separate lives as they co-raise their twins Ella and Alexander, 2, while pursuing their highly successful careers.
While George has frequently been on location filming projects and promoting new releases and his business ventures, Amal has split her time between New York and London, as well as spending a lot of time travelling in her role as Special Envoy for Media Freedom to the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Reports claim that amid the pressure of work demands, the pair have been clashing over their differing lifestyles. While Amal was increasingly tired of her husband’s love of partying, George allegedly felt trapped and suffocated.
Things supposedly reached fever pitch as Amal stayed put with the twins in New York City, where she practises as a human rights lawyer and also lectures at Columbia University.
Meanwhile George spent the bulk of his time in Europe, shuttling between their home in Lake Como, Italy, while working on a new film in London.
In January 2019, Radar Online reported George and Amal had been arguing over their different lifestyles, quoting an insider who said, “She’s all business, he’s all play”.
But nearly a year on, their marriage has continued, reportedly as a result of them agreeing to compromise.
“George promised he’d rein in his partying, especially when they’re in the same city, and Amal has given assurances to stop micro-managing and let him let his hair down every now and then.
“They’ll still show up together to the occasional premiere, but George has agreed to slow down on the glitzy events, which Amal was starting to find fairly tedious,” said the insider.
Always interested in politics, George is now making even more of an effort to spend more time understanding Amal’s human rights work.
“He’s taking a much bigger interest, which means reading up on politics and law so they have more to discuss when they are together,” says the insider.
Earlier this year, George hinted at the pressures their family had been under, in particular as a result of Amal’s human rights work, which has meant stepping up their security measures.
“We have plenty of issues ‒ real, proper security issues ‒ that we have to deal with on
a fairly daily basis.
“We don’t really want our kids to be targets, so we have to pay attention to that,” George told The Hollywood Reporter in May.
Now, the couple are reportedly balancing their public and private lives more easily.
“They still have had their ups and downs and aren’t perfect by any means, but George and Amal are at peace with each other and have figured out an arrangement that works for both of them,” shares an exclusive insider.
“That means spending much less time together and learning to live weeks and months apart at a time, depending on their work schedules.”
For more, see this week’s New Idea – out now!
