George Clooney details his elaborate proposal to Amal

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- George Clooney's proposal to wife Amal Clooney didn't go exactly as planned.

The 54-year-old actor detailed his elaborate proposal to the 38-year-old human rights lawyer on Thursday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Clooney revealed Amal eventually said yes after 25 minutes and several misunderstandings.

"I plotted the whole thing out. I had the ring hidden behind her," the star shared. "Everything was planned out and I cooked dinner. She comes in and she's just come back from London. Usually she'll dress up, and now she's like, 'Maybe we'll just order in.'"

Clooney had everything timed out, including for late aunt Rosemary Clooney's song "Why Shouldn't I" to play in the background, but had to push Amal in the right direction. After a series of misstarts, he asked the lawyer to open the drawer where he'd hidden the ring.

"She pulls it out and she's like, 'It's a ring,' like someone had left it there another time," he said. "I got down on my knee and said, 'I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life without you' ... Finally I literally said, 'Look, I hope the answer is yes, but I need an answer. I'm 52 and I could throw out my hip pretty soon.'"

Clooney and Amal married in Venice, Italy in September 2014. The couple are frequently apart due to the actor's filming schedule and Amal's international clients, but Clooney recently told Extra they keep their romance alive by communicating often when they're separated.

"FaceTime, we'll do that. Mostly it's just try not to go very long," he said. "We spend an awful lot of time together. We don't have huge gaps ... Between my work and her work and the things we're doing, we're able to manage it pretty well."

Clooney played Never Have I Ever with DeGeneres and singer Rihanna on the same episode. The actor will next star in Hail, Caesar!, which opens Friday, with Josh Brolin, and is slated for Money Monster with Julia Roberts.