George's Mom Is Thrilled He's Engaged

When you're one of Hollywood's most private actors, having the details of your personal life revealed to the public is always an unwelcome ordeal, but when someone close to you leaks more information about it to the press, the whole thing's made ten times worse. That is, of course, unless the person doing the leaking is your mother — then it gets a bit more complicated. Such is the case for George Clooney, whose news of his engagement spilled on Saturday, but wasn't confirmed until his mom, Nina, excitedly spoke to the press on Monday. You can bet that weekly phone call is going down a bit differently this time around.

In an interview with The Daily Mail, Nina Clooney confirmed her son's engagement to lawyer Amal Alamuddin, saying that she's "extremely happy, Amal's a lovely girl."

The mother went on to explain that she had met Alamuddin several times and likes her "very much," admiring the lawyer's "brains and beauty." She added that she first met Alamuddin a year ago, and bonded with her future daughter-in-law over their shared interest in international affairs.

"We weren’t at all surprised when they told us they were engaged," Nina said, "and we couldn’t be happier for them."

Nina also compared Alamuddin to her son's many exes, saying that the lawyer is "brilliant" and "a very bright woman and at the very top of her career."

"On an intellectual level, they are equals," she said. "That is very important to him. Amal’s world couldn’t be more different from the Hollywood lifestyle."

Nina's statement comes the same day as one from Alamuddin's law firm, which offered the couple "best wishes and congratulations" on their engagement. It's the mom's interview, though, of course, that sealed the deal; if George's own mother is going around bragging about his engagement, then you can bet it's for real.

We don't know if George signed off on his mother's statements, but it can probably be assumed that he didn't. Despite (or because of) his enormous fame, the actor is extremely private, barely ever speaking to the press about his personal life. The news of his engagement on Saturday came through a source, not him; it'd be pretty unlikely that a guy that private would be cool with his mother blabbing about his fiance to the press, no matter how flattering the comments were.

Yet George shouldn't get too mad at his mom, because even he has to admit that her comments are adorable. Nina seems thrilled at the news that her perpetual-bachelor son is finally settling down, and no one can blame a proud mom for wanting to brag about her son's achievements. Still, the idea of the biggest movie star in the world calling up his mother tonight all "moooooom, why'd you have to do that?" is pretty entertaining. Stars really are just like us!