George Clooney Didn’t Think His Wife Amal Would Like Him At First — ‘I’m 17 Years Older Than Her, She Might Have Thought I Was Grandpa’

George and Amal Clooney are one of the most famous couples in the world. The two have a highly-publicized marriage, and the story behind the early days of their relationship is quite interesting. 

Clooney met Amal and was instantly attracted to her, but wasn’t sure if the feelings were mutual. A large part of his insecurity was due to the 17 year age difference between the two of them. 

George Clooney met Amal through a mutual friend

Clooney initially met Amal via a chance encounter. A mutual friend had asked to visit his home and brought Amal with her. 

“I was in Lake Como, single, and a friend of mine said, ‘Is it okay if I bring my friend over, I’m on my way to the Cannes Film Festival, can I bring my friend over?’” Clooney told Howard Stern. “And my mom and dad were staying with me in Como at the time, and a couple of other friends. And I was like, ‘Sure, bring her over.’” 

They wrote each other for months 

Although the two were clearly fond of each other, Clooney didn’t pursue her romantically for some time.

“And in walks Amal, and she’s stunning and funny and the smartest person in every room she walks into,” Clooney said. “And I was really taken with her. We didn’t—we stayed up all night and talked, but we didn’t date. We just started writing each other, and I wrote her for, I don’t know, a few months.”

George Clooney wasn’t sure if Amal liked him at first 

Clooney knew he liked Amal, but wasn’t sure if she was into him because of their large age gap.

“And then I came to London,” Clooney said. “Well, I liked her, but I didn’t want to jump the shark on it, I couldn’t tell if she liked me because I’m 17 years older than her. So she might have thought I was grandpa, I don’t know.”

He tried to impress her with a movie he was working on

Despite his insecurities, Clooney decided to make his move on Amal when he visited London while working on a film. 

“And then I got to London to score a movie,” Clooney said. “We were scoring at Abbey Road, and I thought, ‘Well if you’re ever going to impress anybody, it’s with a 150 piece orchestra at Abbey Road … And she’d just come from a meeting at work where she was trying to tamp down a problem with the Muslim brotherhood, she comes to Abbey Road”

Amal had had a long day at work, and Clooney had a feeling that inviting her to the studio would lighten her mood. 

“I don’t know … compared to all the other things that she was dealing with that day,” Clooney said. “I think Abbey Road might have just been a relief.”

The famous couple had to dodge paparazzi for months 

Clooney is one of the biggest stars in the world, so it’s needless to say that the paparazzi spend a lot of time investigating his romantic pursuits.

“Then it was tricky because you’re in London, which is a city with a lot of paparazzi following you,” Clooney said. “And so we went out to dinner quietly, no one saw us … And then it became romantic very quickly. And then it was kind of clear once … I knew that she was interested.”

Despite the obvious chemistry, Clooney and Amal had to keep their relationship on the hush for several months while they were getting to know each other.

“Then I think we were together from that moment on,” Clooney said. “And I mean it was really interesting because we had to hide for, I don’t know, a couple of months because you just want to make sure … You want to get to know each other and get to spend time with each other and not do it on the front page of Hello Magazine.”