NEW YORK - Journalist Nick Clooney, father of movie star George and grandfather of newborn twins Ella and Alexander, has told the story of the remarkable day his son met his future wife Amal and their "fates were sealed".

In an interview with People magazine, he said he was on hand when the couple met at a dinner gathering with mutual friends in 2013. The actor previously said the dinner took place in Lake Como in northern Italy, where he has a home.

Clooney the elder said he and his wife, Nina, "were actually the ones who answered the door" when their future daughter-in-law, human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, came in. "She introduced herself to us and we talked. She was obviously very charming, gorgeous and so clearly accomplished, but by the time we had supper that night, it was clear there was a kindness to her and an inclusiveness."

By the end of the dinner, "I started looking over at Nina and saying, 'Look ouuuut, this could be trouble for this young man!'", he recalled.

He believed then that "his and her fates were sealed, both of them. She was so remarkable and he was so remarkable around her".

The actor had been a confirmed bachelor before the lawyer came along.

His father said: "It was just different than all the other relationships I had seen him in, and I had watched them all from the time he was 13. This young woman meant something to him almost immediately. It was just amazing."

In 2014, the couple wed. On June 6, they welcomed twins.