George And Amal Clooney Divorce Rumors Not True: Here’s Why They’ll Make It

George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin have been married for less than four months, but already the rumor mill has been swirling, claiming they have split. The folks at Rumor Fix weighed in on New Year’s Eve to debunk the stories, reporting Clooney’s rep told them whispers of a pending divorce are “100 percent fabricated.”

Earlier reports claimed that George and Amal have been fighting behind closed doors, despite putting on happy faces for the paparazzi. The Daily Mail reported on the couple’s public displays of affection while on vacation in Mexico with long-time Clooney pals Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber.

The Mail connected the Clooneys’ closeness to the alleged threat of arrest Amal faced for her human rights work. Amal debunked that arrest threat story by co-penning an op-ed in the Huffington Post on Sunday.

If public PDAs are not enough to quiet the divorce rumor mill, social science may back the prospects of a long-time union for George and Amal. Back in October, Time published an article that listed all the facts that point to wedded bliss, based on the work of an academic, Isabel Sawhill, and her book Generation Unbound.

It seems statistics are in the Clooneys’ favor.

As older newlyweds — George is 53 and Amal is 36 — the actor and lawyer have it in the bank. Data suggests waiting until your early 30s to get married if you don’t want to risk divorce. Despite the pregnancy rumors that started almost as soon as George and Amal announced their engagement, the couple remains childless. According to Sawhill, marriages that happen after children are more likely to end in divorce.

George and Amal also have similar interests, backgrounds, education, and financial means. Although Time is clear Amal has a great deal more education than George and George is far more wealthy than Amal, both Clooneys have political knowledge and enough money to be comfortable. As Time writer Belinda Luscombe notes, a lack of financial need is a huge indicator of marital longevity.

“[Wealth] is such a big predictor of marital stability that sociologists are not quite sure if richer people have more stable marriage or whether more stable marriages produce better wealth.”

Finally, George and Amal could be in for a long marriage simply because the Clooneys decided that is what they wanted. They deliberately chose marriage. They did not end up married because they felt they had no other option.

One thing is certain; even if those PDAs don’t go away, the rumor mill will continue to swirl.

[George and Amal Clooney photo Beau Sweet/GC Images via The New York Daily News]