George Clooney feared he'd have 'no chance' with now-wife Amal due to major concern

George Clooney has confessed he was initially apprehensive about the 17-year age difference between him and his now-wife Amal Clooney.

The 63-year-old crossed paths with Amal, a 47-year-old human rights lawyer, back in 2013 and was immediately smitten.

His agent was so certain about their chemistry that he predicted marriage on the first day they met, with George recalling: [He said] "I'm telling you, you're going to marry her."

At the time however, the Hollywood star was concerned that age might be an obstacle and Amal also appeared quite self-sufficient.

The actor shared with the New York Times: "Then I didn't really think I'd have much of a chance with her because I was 17 years older and she seemed to have everything she needed."

Thankfully for George, Amal reciprocated his affections and the pair went on to say 'I do' at their lavish wedding in Vernice, Italy, just a year after meeting.

Their romance blossomed further when they welcomed twins Alexander and Ella in 2017, now both seven.

On reflection, the Oscar winner says meeting Amal in his later years has turned out to be beneficial.

Explaining his perspective, he shared: "We renovated our house. Amal would go, 'I want to paint this wall yellow'.

"Well, if I was 27 years old and doing construction work, I would've been like, 'Well, that's a stupid colour'.

"But the truth of the matter is that at 60, you just go, 'OK'. There are so many things that would have caused friction that don't."

George does highlight a new concern however when it comes to his age.

Upon reaching the milestone age of 60, he had a heartfelt discussion with his wife about seizing life's moments while he is still sprightly.

He recounted: "I said, 'Look, I can still play full-court basketball. I can still run around. I can still do pretty much everything I did when I was 30.

"'But in 30 years, I'm 90. That's a real number. My dad just hit that. And there are some things you're not doing no matter how many granola bars you eat'."

George then told Amal that they needed to embrace the next couple of decades by "jamming in everything we can".

"Not just work, because no one at the end of their life goes, 'God, I wish I worked more'."