How George Clooney could owe his continued success to a broken vow after his first marriage

George Clooney’s decision to marry wife Amal is helping to ‘keep him young’, according to sources who claim that without her he would sleep all the time and may not have had the same success in his later years.

When the Hollywood star’s first marriage to Talia Balsam fell apart in the early 1990s, the heartthrob promised journalist Barbara Walters that he would never marry again.

However, everything changed when the Ocean’s Eleven actor, 63, crossed paths with human rights lawyer Amal, 46, in 2013 – with the pair tying the knot less than a year after their romance first blossomed.

George sleeps less and feels ‘young and very active’ thanks to his wife’s influence.

“George and his first wife Talia Balsam divorced in 1993. That’s when he swore off marriage,” an insider exclusively told DailyMail.com. “He played on the field for years. That was until he fell in love with Amal and married her over a decade ago.”

The source explained the impact their age difference has had on the Oscar nominee: “She is seventeen years younger than him and makes him feel youthful again. Ella and Alexander also keep him young and very active.

“If it weren’t for Amal and the kids, he says he would be taking naps whenever he could and not living the kind of exciting life he does now.”

They continued, “Most days for George and Amal usually start at the crack of dawn, when the twins run into their bedroom and jump on the bed.

“Amal won’t let George sleep anymore. They both play with Ella and Alexander, then she picks him up and they go for a long walk.

‘Before Amal came into his life, he would sleep in when he wasn’t working. Now he has no choice and he loves it.”

The lawyer has even improved his eating habits, with George no longer skipping breakfast and ditching pasta as a daily staple.

“Amal puts together a light, healthy breakfast,” the insider said. “George used to skip breakfast before she came into his life.

‘Amal has also changed a lot of George’s diet. He still likes pasta, but it’s not an everyday thing anymore. It’s a treat. They don’t eat out that much. When they do, it’s usually sushi. At home it’s mainly proteins.’

The insider added: “They train together and George loves it. Before Amal, he tended to put on some weight. Not anymore, when he knows he needs to be seen next to his beautiful wife.’

The Ocean’s Eleven actor, 63, crossed paths with human rights lawyer Amal, 46, in 2013 – with the pair tying the knot less than a year after their romance began

When the Hollywood heartthrob’s first marriage to Talia Balsam fell apart in the early 1990s, George famously vowed never to marry again.

While the star is focusing on family life, his career is also flourishing, with several projects in the pipeline for the new year, including his Broadway debut as Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck next Spring.

The play, co-written by George and Grant Heslov, is based on the screenplay of his 2005 Oscar-nominated film.

“I feel honored to return to the stage after all these years and especially to Broadway, the art form and venue that every actor strives for,” he said.

The beloved actor — who recently faced a backlash following Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris — will also star alongside Adam Sandler and Laura Dern in an upcoming film from director Noah Baumbach.

George’s mixed feelings about marriage began after he met his ex-wife Talia in 1984. The couple eventually tied the knot in 1989.

But just three years later, their relationship started to deteriorate and by 1992 the actor had filed for divorce.

Reflecting on the failed union, he later admitted: ‘I was probably – certainly – not someone who should have been married at that time. I just don’t feel like I gave Talia a fair chance. I was responsible for the failure of that marriage.’

In interviews after the divorce, George made it clear that although he no longer wanted to be married, he did want to raise children.

An insider explained: ‘If it wasn’t for Amal and their kids, he says he would be taking naps whenever he could and not living the kind of exciting life he does now’

The insider continued, “Before Amal came into his life, he would sleep in when he wasn’t at work. Now he has no choice and he loves it’

Speaking to GQ magazine in 2013 about why he hadn’t started a family yet, he explained: ‘I never had ambitions like that. I got married in 1989. I wasn’t very good at it.

“I was quoted as saying that I will never get married again after my divorce, and I have never talked about it since.”

After the divorce, he quickly became Hollywood’s most eligible (and perhaps most desirable) bachelor before shocking fans when he proposed to Amal in April 2014.

Just five months later, the couple made vows in the Venetian palace Ca’ Farsetti.

He admitted that his life changed irreversibly for the better from the moment he first met Amal during an interview with CBS Sunday morning in 2020.

“There is no doubt that having Amal in my life changed everything for me,” he said. “It was the first time that everything she did and everything about her was infinitely more important than everything about me.”

Referring to their twins, whom they welcomed in 2017, he added: “And then we had these two dorks. It’s very satisfying and something I didn’t…see coming at all.’

Contrary to the sentiment he previously shared with GQ magazine over the years, the actor couldn’t stop showering praises on married life during another interview in 2020.

The source explained that Amal has been making sure the couple keeps their bodies in the best shape possible with a healthy diet and couples workouts.

He said: ‘I thought, “I’m never going to get married. I’m not going to have children.” I go to work, I have great friends, my life is full, I’m doing well.

“And I didn’t know how full it was until I met Amal. And then everything changed. And I thought, ‘Oh, actually this was a huge empty space.'”

He explained that marriage changed him “because I had never been in a position where someone else’s life was infinitely more important to me than my own. You know? And then tackle two more individuals, who are small and need to be fed.’

Speak with People in 2020, the Batman & Robin star revealed that he hasn’t had a fight with his wife yet.

He gushed, “I feel very lucky in many ways to have met her. We’ve never had an argument. You know, everyone has been smacked around because of the coronavirus, and many friends’ relationships have been tested. It was very easy for us.’

The smitten star noted that their shared passion for equality, philanthropy and humanitarian causes – the couple works together at human rights organization Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) – has only strengthened their relationship.

“She succeeds in so many different ways and stands up for what she believes in,” he said of his wife. ‘We didn’t fall in love because of our work, but it ended up being something unusual [share]… We’re really lucky and we know it.”