d. h. barkley

Isn’t it strange that George Clooney, a handsome, charming, funny, rich, successful superstar is single at over 50 years of age? What is behind this man who, despite a string of intense romances with a number of beautiful women, has never maintained a romantic relationship beyond a few years? Why has his longest live-in companion been a pot bellied pig? He is unquestionably irresistible to a wide range of women – so why hasn’t he found a Mrs Right, or if he has, why don’t they stay together? Is it because he is so wedded to his work? Is it because he has never found someone important enough to make a real commitment, involving sacrifice and compromise? Is it because he is not prepared to let down his guard enough to be part of a couple? Or is it due to something else? Humans, like many in the animal kingdom, are generally hard-wired to search out and make a long-term commitment to a partner. Cleverly designed by nature, as part of the date, mate, and parent paradigm, this tries to ensure we stick together as long as possible to breed and raise offspring, thus increasing the chance of the survival of our species. Irrespective of whether we have (or do not have) children, humans the world-over commit to a significant other for the long-term with prolonged voluntary ‘singleness’ being unusual. Despite this ‘norm’, George Clooney has been single almost all his life (with a brief marriage, which one could say doesn’t really count, given its blink-of-an-eye duration and his relative youth and seeming impulsiveness at the time). Why might he be different to the norm? - Maybe he just doesn’t want a long-term partner, some suggest he is gay; maybe it’s something about him; maybe it’s something about the women he dates; or maybe it’s just due to circumstances. This book is not a biography of George Clooney – his life has already been chronicled in many publications by others and if all the online information on his professional and personal life were to be printed, one wonders if there would be many trees left in the world. Instead this book looks at possible reasons why this Hollywood superstar has remained single for most of his life. The first chapters cover what we know about ‘The Man’, and what we know about ‘The Women’ he has dated, looking at differences between the ‘camps’ of women he dated before and after he became the superstar he is today. It explores why they fall in love, what dating George Clooney might be like in reality, and examines possible reasons why the relationships don’t last. Is it because of circumstances (do they get entangled too fast; are they under too much scrutiny; can he actually meet the right ones)? Or could it be something about the women he has chosen to date, particularly since becoming famous (do they find they are too different to him; do they feel too inferior; do they feel too replaceable; do they expect it to end; or do they just need more commitment)? Or is it something about The Man himself (could ‘The Achiever’ be a bit of a Mr Overachiever? Is ‘The Playboy’ just a Mr Fairweather? Might ‘The Humanitarian’ be a Mr Perfectionist at heart? Is ‘The Loyal Friend’ actually a Mr Self-Protector? Behind ‘The Down-To-Earth Guy’ is there a Mr Self-Doubter? Is ‘The Man’s Man’ a part of avoiding commitment and being a Mr No-Ties? Is ‘The Ringleader’ fundamentally a Mr Controller? Or is ‘The Joker’ deep down still a bit of a Mr Schoolboy?). In the last chapters the book looks at what any of us need for long-term successful partnerships, with reference to George Clooney’s romantic history, finishing with ‘An all-purpose recipe for long-term romantic success’ (of course no recipe is guaranteed but a good one certainly helps). ** 50% of net author proceeds will be donated to George Clooney’s charity ‘Not On Our Watch’ **