Though they’ve been happily married for nearly four years, Amal Clooney just publicly spoke out about her husband George Clooney for the first time — and what she said about her actor spouse was beyond adorable. Amal, 40, took the stage at the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award Gala in LA on Thursday, June 7 to honor George, 57, before he accepted the AFI Life Achievement Award.

“I met George when I was 35 and starting to become quite resigned to the idea that I was going to be a spinster,” Amal told the audience. “Then we met and started hiding out in my London flat and very soon it felt like, no matter what happened, I would never want to be with anyone else.”

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“I couldn’t sleep when we were apart, and I’m told that I would display a particular grin and head tilt when reading his text messages or the letters he would hide in my bag,” she continued. “Five years later, none of that has changed: He is the person who has my complete admiration and also the person whose smile makes me melt every time.”

Amal then shared “a few things you may not know about George” and revealed that the actor is “incredibly generous” and enjoys “spoiling loved ones.” She continued, “He is a gentleman in every sense of the word and in a way that seems so rare these days and perhaps even outdated. Although George modestly attributes much of the success we are celebrating here tonight to luck, I think it’s incredible talent and character that got him here. And these attributes also make him an amazing husband and father.”

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The famed human rights lawyer then addressed her husband directly. “My love, what I have found with you is the great love I always hoped existed. And seeing you with our children, Ella and Alexander, is the greatest joy in my life.”

Amal then said that although their twins — who just turned one year old on Wednesday, June 6 — haven’t “worked out that ‘da-da’ is actually Batman, a talking fox, and friends with Mary Poppins,” she, Ella, and Alexander are incredibly happy to have George in their lives.

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“I’m so proud of you, my love. I also know that when our children find out not only what you have done but who you are, they will be so proud of you, too,” she concluded. Following last night’s event, parts of the AFI Life Achievement Award Gala honoring George will be televised on TNT on Thursday, June 21.