Amal Clooney has opened up about the downside of marrying one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, revealing that fame had left her feeling self-conscious about her own career.

Speaking at a Cartier Dialogues event in Bangkok on June 9, the human rights lawyer, 48, reflected on how her life changed after tying the knot with George Clooney, 65, in 2014.

Before meeting the actor, Amal had built a successful international legal career away from the spotlight, a separation she says became far harder to maintain once she became one half of one of the world’s most famous couples.

‘It was a weird phenomenon. 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… and then I got married and that changed quite a lot,’ she said.

As the spotlight on the couple intensified – particularly after they welcomed twins Alexander and Ella, now nine, in 2017 – Amal said she initially felt overly conscious of how she was perceived in her professional life. 

She admitted she worried about a ‘one-dimensional’ view of her public image. 

Amal Clooney opened up about the downside of marrying one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, George Clooney, at a Cartier Dialogues event in Bangkok on June 9

Before meeting the actor, Amal had built a successful international legal career away from the spotlight, a separation she says became far harder to maintain once she became one half of one of the world’s most famous couples; Above, in April

‘And at first I was kind of conscious of that one-dimensional view where I felt like, well, I can’t be seen wearing this dress or doing this because I’m in front of a judge on Monday and I dont want the judge to… but you know it just doesn’t matter as much as living your life,’ she added.

‘Ultimately if you’re good at what you do, that is going to shine through or not.’ 

Despite the pressures of public attention, Amal said she refused to let it dictate her choices or hold her back.

‘I wouldn’t allow that factor to stop me from doing things that were important for my family or for my relationship. 

‘It was easier when I could decide what kind of exposure I got. It was something new to navigate.’

Despite the constant public attention, the couple have continued to go from strength to strength in their relationship, with George even revealing they have never had a proper argument.

The Batman star has insisted he and Amal have never come close to a ‘fight’, explaining that he has reached a stage in life where he no longer feels the need to be ‘right’.

‘Well, when you’re younger, you want to be right about everything, you know. “Don’t paint that color on the wall,”’ he explained in an interview with CBS Mornings.

With fame came intense public scrutiny, which only increased further after the couple welcomed twins Alexander and Ella, now nine, in 2017; Above, in 2014

‘And you know, Amal and I – everybody gets ticked off when I say it – but we’ve never had a fight. We never had an argument. And some of it is because I’m at this point in life where if she wants to paint the wall red, I don’t care.’

‘You get to a point in life where you just go: “Why would that be a discussion or an argument?” We have a really amazing relationship because we’re also so supportive of each other that it’s like, “I don’t care.”’

He added that, when he was younger, ‘I think I would have found things to, you know, stick my chest out about that I can go now: “It doesn’t matter, I don’t care.”’

The former ER star also recently revealed that the couple have changed their lifestyle since becoming parents, admitting they are far more cautious about travelling to dangerous parts of the world.

‘Well, you have to be careful, right? You can’t just go swinging as you used to. And Amal and I both had to change our goals on where we would go,’ he told People.

‘I used to enjoy going in places that were dangerous. I liked going into the Nuba Mountains and Darfur and Abyei, and there were war zones. And I found it exhilarating. And Amal was in a bunker in Beirut for two years doing the court cases.’

‘We had to make decisions not to do that once we had kids. You had to change sort of what the rules were,’ he added.

The family now splits their time between homes, including an 18th-century villa outside the town of Brignoles in southern France.

Amal admitted at the Cartier event: ‘It was a weird phenomenon. 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… and then I got married and that changed quite a lot;’ Above, in 2016

The couple’s relationship began in Italy in 2013, when a mutual friend asked George if he could bring along a guest to dinner – Amal. 

Before she arrived, the actor received a call from his agent suggesting he would end up marrying her, a prediction he initially dismissed.

But when Amal walked in, there was an immediate connection, with the pair talking late into the night alongside George’s visiting parents.

They stayed in touch afterwards by email, before meeting properly on a first date in London later that year. 

By April 2014, George had proposed at home, and the couple went on to marry in Venice that September.