From the moment they met ten years (and one month) ago, George and Amal Clooney have seemed like love’s young dream. But with two kids under seven and busy careers often keeping them apart, friends say a little bit of insecurity has crept into their otherwise perfect relationship. Insiders tell [heat] human rights lawyer Amal has put her foot down about who they hire to look after their twins, telling the movie star they can’t have any super-hot nannies.

“Amal trusts George implicitly and their marriage has never been stronger,” says an insider close to the doting parents of six-year-old twins Alexander and Ella. “But let’s not forget, George was quite the ladies man up until he met Amal. Of course, he’s not that guy anymore and everything changed after they got together, but Amal isn’t going to put temptation in his path by allowing twenty-something supermodel types into their home, where they’d be swooning all over George! The both love their team and all their nannies, but it’s no coincidence the women in their employ all tend to be middle aged. None of them would bat an eye at gorgeous George. It’s Amal’s way of keeping her husband on his toes.”

The couple have been open about employing help with their kids, with George admitting in 2021, “We have a nanny four days a week and the rest of the time it’s just us.” And they took advantage of their on-hand assistance by heading out last week for a date night. The pair were photographed out to dinner at Gatto Nero, near their home in Lake Como. It followed another recent date at luxury hotel Grand Hotel Tremezzo, where they were seen dining on the balcony and sneaking in some PDA as they kissed and held hands. Our insider continues, “George is more madly in love with wife Amal than ever, and tells anyone who’ll listen that he’s met his soulmate. Amal’s the only one George ever has eyes for. In his opinion, she’s the most gorgeous woman in the room; the smartest, the most capable, the most caring. They’re in a great place right now, and that’s because they never take each other for granted. He’s more than happy to let her call the shots at home and gives her carte blanche when it comes to their domestic help. He doesn’t mind who they hire, and even takes it as a compliment that Amal worries about this kind of thing. His policy is very much happy wife, happy life, and if that means matronly nannies, he’s fine with that!”

Until he met Amal in July 2013, George was known as a bit of a playboy – even admitting in an interview that he knew he had a reputation as a “confirmed bachelor”. But all that changed when he met the now-45-year-old lawyer through a mutual friend. The Oscar winner said of their meet-cute, “We just talked, we stayed up all night talking… I didn’t know if she wanted to go out with me – I just thought we were buddies.” Amal described their first date as “the most natural thing in the world” later admitting, “I met George when I was 35 and starting to become quite resigned to the idea that I was going to be a spinster. Then 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. I couldn’t sleep when we were apart.” She went on to admit she had a “particular grin and head tilt” whenever she heard from him, adding, “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.”

The [Ocean’s Eleven] megastar proposed in April 2014 with a seven-carat, emerald-cut diamond ring, later describing the proposal as “horrible”. He told chat show host, Ellen DeGeneres, “I did all the stuff, got down on my knee and did all the things you’re supposed to do… and she’s like, ‘Holy shit!’ And she just kept staring at the ring, going, ‘Oh, my God.’ It was 20 minutes of me on my knee, waiting for her to say yes, because she was so shocked.” They married that September in Venice at the Aman Canal Grande luxury resort, with George gushing ahead of the ceremony, “I met my lovely bride-to-be here in Italy, whom I will be marrying, in a couple of weeks, in Venice, of all places … I would just like to say to my bride-to-be, Amal, that I love you very much and I can’t wait to be your husband.” He later admitted meeting Amal had “changed everything in terms of what I thought my future – my personal future – was going to be.” In 2017, they revealed they were expecting twins, saying, “[The doctor] goes, ‘Well, there’s one.’ And I said, ‘Great.’ And then he goes, ‘And there’s the second one.’ And I was like, ‘What?’ We just sat there, staring at that piece of paper they give you, and I kept thinking there was a mistake.” With the arrival of their babies, the couple released a statement, reading, “This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander George into their lives. Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine. George is sedated and should recover in a few days.”

But it’s not all easy street, with the pair both working busy professions, that often take them – separately – around the world. George is currently in production with new thriller, [Wolves], while promoting his most recent movie, [Flash]. Meanwhile, Amal works as an activist and human rights lawyer, as well as overseeing [The Clooney Foundation For Justice], which she and George established in 2016, to fight, “systemic injustice against vulnerable communities: journalists, women and girls, democracy-defenders, LGBTQ persons and minorities.” Their conflicting schedules has been a source of frustration, with the A-lister recently complaining, “We have to rethink how we’re doing our lives. We’re working a lot, both of us. She’s working a tremendous amount as well.” In another chat, he admitted, “My wife has been, for the last year, working literally every single day.”

But friends say since turning 62 – and since his near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2018 – George is working on improving his lifestyle, on and off set. “He’s ditched those boozing sessions with the boys that were such a big part of his life for years,” says a source. “He rarely, if ever, rides bikes these days either. Amal really put her foot down when he got into that last dangerous crash. And his diet is a lot healthier. Of course, they splurge on fancy meals out from time to time, but generally he’s really watching the calorie count and laying off the grease and fried stuff. He and Amal lead a pretty healthy, quiet life these days. So the idea that they would hire glamour gal nannies is actually really quite funny to George…”