George and Amal Clooney make unexpected change for eight-year-old twins

George Clooney and his wife, Amal, have taken a major step in making their move to France more permanent. The couple and their eight-year-old twins, Alexander and Ella, have officially become French citizens, according to a naturalization decree obtained by French newspaper Journal officiel.

The Clooneys spend most of the year at their French chateau near the village of Brignoles in the south of France. George and Amal purchased the former winery, Domaine du Canadel, in 2021 and moved there to raise their children away from the spotlight.

The Oscar winner shared in an interview on RTL radio in December that he appreciated the privacy his family was afforded by living in the quaint town. “I love the French culture, your language, even if I’m still bad at it after 400 days of courses,” he quipped. “Here, they don’t take photos of kids. There aren’t any paparazzi hidden at the school gates. That’s number one for us.”

George reiterated this to Esquire, sharing that Alexander and Ella could lead a normal life. “We live on a farm in France. A good portion of my life growing up was on a farm, and as a kid, I hated the whole idea of it,” he said.

Learn more about George and Amal’s adorable twins below…

“But now, for them, it’s like – they’re not on their iPads, you know? They have dinner with grown-ups and have to take their dishes in. They have a much better life.” The 64-year-old added that he was “worried about raising our kids in LA, in the culture of Hollywood.”

“I felt like they were never going to get a fair shake at life. France – they kind of don’t [care] about fame. I don’t want them to be walking around worried about paparazzi. I don’t want them being compared to somebody else’s famous kids.”

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Amal, a human rights lawyer and barrister, implemented a simple rule with her house guests to protect her children’s privacy even further.

“Creating private moments and spaces is becoming increasingly difficult. But that’s also why we entertain a lot at home. I now have a phone basket that I use to take everyone’s phones away!” she told Glamour.

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“It’s important to get that balance where you have time alone with your family and with your friends, where people feel like you can have a safe and frank exchange,” she continued. “And I would say becoming a parent means you’re more troubled by some of the intrusions.”

“So we do the best we can to minimize any impact on our children. We don’t put our children out there; we’ve never put their photo out there or anything like that.”

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Alexander and Ella are well-traveled, due to their parents owning homes in France, Italy, the US and England, and can speak English, Italian and French fluently. The family resides in the chateau for most of the year, and enjoys the estate’s pool, tennis court, gardens, lake, olive grove and extensive vineyard.

George and Amal purchased the 425-acre estate for a reported $8.3 million. The property is a five-minute drive from Brad Pitt’s vineyard Chateau Miraval, which he bought a stake in with his former wife, Angelina Jolie.