George Clooney had therapy to battle marriage breakdown

London: Hollywood star George Clooney has admitted he didn`t work `hard" enough at his marriage to Talia Balsam and had to undergo therapy when the union failed.

The 50-year-old actor, who recently split from girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis, was married to Balsam for four years until 1993. Even though he sought help from a counsellor when the marriage ended, the actor said he didn`t get the response he was hoping for, reported Sun online. "I was not prepared to face up to the fact you need to work at a marriage. I was 28 and not as tolerant as I should have been. I went into therapy for the first and only time in my life after the marriage was over. I found out you can use therapy to justify pretty much anything. "They will say, `You are not wrong to feel that way`. Sometimes you just want them to say, `You are a real jerk.` I have probably worked harder at friendships than I did my marriage," said Clooney. The `Ocean`s Eleven` star, whose previous girlfriends have included model Lisa Snowdon and waitress Sarah Larson, also admitted his "selfish" devotion to his work has meant none of his relationships have lasted more than a few years. "I love working. I love being on a film set, trying to make something special. It is a very selfish life. It means my relationships seem to last between two and three years. At that point, these independent women think it is time to call it a day. I don`t blame them for wanting more from a relationship." PTI