Amal Clooney opened up about the major sacrifice she was forced to make when marrying George Clooney, her husband of 11 years. The lawyer spoke at the Cartier Women's Initiative event about how her life changed dramatically after meeting the A-lister back in 2013, forcing her to reckon with having her personal life splashed across every front page.
"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 began during a speech at the event. "And then I got married, and that changed quite a lot."
She continued: "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."
© Mondadori Portfolio via Getty ImAmal added that she sacrificed having a private personal life for loving her husband and her kids loudly and boldly.
"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."
Amal and George share eight-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella, and spend much of their time at their French estate in Brignoles. Together, the pair have worked to keep their children out of the spotlight and away from the paparazzi.
© WireImage"I have a goal of trying to protect, I don't want pictures of my kids," George told GQ. "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."
Learn more about George and Amal's love story below...
Additionally, Amal and George enforce a rule at their home that guests must hand over their phones to avoid any pictures being snapped of their kids.
"Creating private moments and spaces is becoming increasingly difficult," the mother of two told 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."
© Getty Images for FLC"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," she continued.
© Getty Images"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," Amal added.
The family of four lives at George and Amal's incredible 18th-century chateau near Provence, with the home featuring a vineyard, pool, tennis courts and a guest house. They also own an estate in England, a home at Lake Como in Italy, and properties in California and New York.
