George Clooney on how he persuaded Amal Clooney to marry him: 'I'm 52 and I could throw out my hip pretty soon'

(And they say romance is dead)

George and Amal Clooney (Getty Images)

George Clooney has admitted he had to do some serious persuading to get Amal Clooney to marry him.

The actor and human rights lawyer married in a highly publicised ceremony in Venice in April 2014, becoming the ultimate power couple and consequently under constant scrutiny in the media. They became engaged after just six months of dating, but Clooney has revealed it took Amal a while to say yes.

He told Ellen Degeneres: “And I got down on my knee and said: 'I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life without you.' And she kept looking at the ring and she was looking at me and she was like ‘Oh My God’.

“And we now know because there was a playlist so we know how long it actually took, and it was like 25 minutes. Finally I literally said, ‘Look, I hope the answer's yes, but I need an answer 'cause I'm 52 and I could throw out my hip pretty soon.' And she said ‘oh, yes’ and it worked out really well."

The Gravity actor has also admitted he often feels like an ‘idiot’ when talking to his wife, who recently represented Mohamed Nasheed, the ousted President of the Maldives, and led an international delegation to secure his release.