George Clooney says his wife is the ''smart one'' in their marriage.

The 'Monuments Men' actor was unaccompanied by human rights lawyer spouse Amal - who he married in September - to the SeriousFun Children's Network Gala at Avery Fisher Hall in New York's Lincoln Center on Monday (02.03.15) because she is working on a case but mentioned her as he poked fun at himself for stumbling over his words.

Paying tribute to Paul Newman, who founded the camps for sick children, he told guests including Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and Danny Devito: ''Since 1988 these camps have brought over a half a million sick kids and their families from over five... from over 50 countries, 500 countries would be too many. There aren't actually that many...

''My wife's the smart one.''

It was recently claimed Amal has ordered George on a diet after he gained over 15lbs.

A friend said: ''Amal told me there are five rules for George's new eating regime and healthy lifestyle that should get him back in shape as quickly as ­possible.''

The five rules include no alcohol, no fatty meat and less dairy products.

However, the friend also revealed that the 53-year-old actor would find the healthy eating plan ''tough'' because of his love of tacos.

They said: ''George is a pretty disciplined guy on set but, although Amal's new eating rules seem straightforward, he's going to find it tough because he loves Mexican food and even binges on the fast food variety several times a week in LA.''