Renee Zellweger and Ant Anstead are engaged, according to reports. The Oscar winner announced their engagement to friends.
The Sun reported on July 18 that the Bridget Jones’ Diary actress has told friends they are “tying the knot after a low-key engagement.” Ant, 44, has apparently made the big move.
“Renee and Ant are keeping their plans incredibly private, they’re not planning a big public announcement,” an insider told the outlet. “She has been telling her inner circle about organizing their nuptials, everything will be very low-key. Her relationship with Ant is super strong and they’re madly in love, and they can’t wait to get hitched.”
While filming his show, Celebrity IOU: Joyride, Ant and Renee, 54, became friends. Renee appeared in the episode from June 2021 in memory of her dear friend and former publicist Nanci Ryder. The main focus of the episode was remodelling cars for the twin brother nurses who cared for the celebrity flack. Tragically, Nancy was given her ALS diagnosis in 2014, just before she passed away in 2020. It was a touching and significant start to their epic relationship.
READ ALSO: Blac Chyna: Early life, Kids, Real name, Stripper and Relationships
When the paparazzi photographed them sharing a kiss on the balcony of his Laguna Beach home in the early days of July, their relationship was subsequently reported and ultimately confirmed. The two became “Instagram official” on August 22 when Ant shared a picture of himself, Renee, and his Celebrity IOU: Joyride co-star Cristy Lee. Ant’s caption referred to the Oscar winner as “incredibly magical.”
Ant previously acknowledged that he and Renee had been seeing each other for “a while” prior to the relationship becoming public knowledge.
“Everyone knows that Renee and I have become quite close, [but] we kept it a secret for a while, and unfortunately, some pictures were taken and put out there,” Ant told Entertainment Tonight in August. In the same interview, Ant praised Renee’s work ethic, which he got to witness during their time together on the Discovery+ series. “It was a real pleasure to work with her. She’s super pro, and she can weld,” he said.
Renee divulged information about her “serendipitous” encounter with Ant in March 2022. She was mourning the loss of Nanci Ryder, a close friend and publicist, who passed away in June 2020 as a result of ALS.
Nanci watched an episode of Celebrity IOU, a show where a famous person honours someone in their life by renovating the person’s home, as she considered how to honour the twin nurses (Jerome and Jerald Cowan) who cared for her in her final days. Who is that program’s host? Ant. After Renée joined the programme, the episode’s filming started in June 2021. While giving the twins a pair of vintage cars, Renee and Ant started dating.
