Bump alert!
George and Amal’s family joy
It looks like George Clooney’s wish to become a father again might be granted, with wife Amal stepping out with what appears to be a baby bump.
Usually waif-like except when pregnant, the human rights lawyer was spotted with a rounded tum during a date night in Sardinia, Italy, just weeks after George confessed he was ready to expand their brood.
“She wasn’t making any attempt to hide her belly,” reports an eyewitness. “If anything, she seemed proud of it. She was glowing.”
Last month, Woman’s Day revealed how George, 57, had been telling A-list pals at the Met Gala how he was ready for a sibling for one-year-old twins Alexander and Ella. It
was a move that infuriated fiercely private Amal, 40, with the couple rowing about his loose lips following the star-studded fashion event in New York.
But fast-forward a month and the couple looked more in love than ever as they enjoyed a romantic dinner at island eatery Il Marino di Puntaldia.
“George seemed extraprotective of her, asking if she’d had enough to eat and always making sure her water was topped up,” a fellow diner notes. “I didn’t see her drink any alcohol, even though George enjoyed a red wine or two. The couple seemed to be in a celebratory mood.”
The new pictures follow Amal’s appearance at Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding, where the barrister wore a stunning yet tummy-hiding Stella McCartney peplum frock. “If that’s a baby bump, Amal would have wanted to do the respectful thing and hide it so as to not take the spotlight from the bride,” says a close friend of the couple.
Meanwhile, in an unusual turn early this month, Amal – who has always remained tight-lipped when it comes to her relationship with George, leaving her husband to report on the family’s home life – took to the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to rave about her “incredible” husband.
It was a moving and lengthy speech honouring George, who was receiving the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Amal spoke of his talent and gentlemanly behaviour, but she also shared a glimpse of their lives together, revealing how their romance blossomed and the love she feels for him.
“We met and started hiding out in my London flat and very soon it felt like no matter what happened, I would never want to be with anyone else,” Amal confessed. “I couldn’t sleep when we were apart. And I’m told that I would display a particular grin and head tilt when reading his text messages or the letters he would hide in my bag.
“Five years later, none of that has changed. He is the person who has my complete admiration and also the person whose smile makes me melt every time.”
Love blooms
It was an unexpected insight into the lives of an extraordinary couple, who met at a party at George’s grand palazzo in Lake Como, Italy, in 2013. Soon afterwards, the pair began exchanging emails as friends, with George pretending his messages were from a cocker spaniel called Einstein who was being held hostage and needed Amal’s negotiating skills.
The actor knew early on that she was “the one”. And after a trip to Kenya in 2014, he proposed. He recalls, “She just kept saying, ‘Oh, my God!’ and, ‘Wow!’ Finally, I said, ‘Listen, I’m 52 and I’ve been on my knee now for about 28 minutes, so I gotta get an answer out of this or I’m going to throw a hip out.’”
Since getting hitched in September 2014, the couple have emblazoned an A&G monogram on everything in sight at their Berkshire home, including guest bathrobes, Amal’s hat boxes and even a garden sculpture.
But it’s their family that’s the focus of their life together now. Each morning, between 6am and 8am, the twins – who George lovingly refers to as “the knuckleheads” – join them in bed, where they start the day slowly.
It’s a far cry from the world the former Hollywood playboy imagined for himself. As George says, “If you know anything about my crazy life, you know that I’d pretty much committed to the idea of never marrying again, but I started dating Amal and I immediately knew that something was very different.”
And now, five years in, their family might be growing that little bit bigger!