"He has been special for me, and very important, just as a father would be,'' Canalis said of her relationship with the suave A-lister. When Vespa asked her to clarify what she meant, she added, "Between us there was more of a father-daughter relationship. I was unable to clarify this up 'til now.''

Canalis, 33, is 17 years younger than the avowed bachelor and Oscar winner. The couple broke up after dating for two years -- and shortly after Elisabetta was quoted in an Italian magazine saying "I will be married." But Canalis also claims she and George never spoke of marriage or having children together. "The end of the relationship was not caused by a marriage issue, but instead by our personal needs,'' she says.

The Italian TV personality describeS Clooney as "one of the best people I have met from a charitable point of view,'' and said he IS "the person who valued my feminine side the most."

Clooney, currently appearing in the political thriller The Ides Of March and the family drama The Descendants, has since become entangled with former wrestler Stacy Keibler. . For her part, Canalis has moved on at least temporarily with actor Mehcad Brooks.