Signs Renée Zellweger And Ant Anstead Are In It For The Long Haul

Renée Zellweger and Ant Anstead first met in April 2021 on the set of "Celebrity IOU: Joyride," a reality TV show hosted by Anstead where he helps celebrities overhaul cars to give as a gift to someone special in their life. The two are notoriously private about their relationship and rarely post on social media or make red carpet appearances together. Nevertheless, the couple seems to be standing the test of time. 

On April 24, 2026, Anstead made a rare exception to his carefully curated Instagram posts and shared a gushing tribute to Zellweger, along with a sweet photo of the two of them working on cars. "How it started.....Happy FIVE YEAR anniversary my beautiful lady! Hands down The best human I know! Luckiest boy! I love you, my Ren," he wrote. But things haven't always been so simple for Anstead's love life. 

Anstead married Christina Haack in 2018 and welcomed their son, Hudson, in 2019. They separated in September 2020, and their divorce was finalized in June 2021, shortly after Anstead met Zellweger. Undeniably, Haack changed after her divorce from Anstead, and the two had a rocky time navigating coparenting after their split. Haack's exes have all talked about her after their split, and early on, Anstead had complaints about her parenting. But the two have come to a better place, which undoubtedly makes his relationship with Zellweger easier, too. And with that in mind, it really looks like Anstead and Zellweger are in it for the long haul. 

Renée Zellweger and Ant Anstead prefer to keep their relationship private. In fact, the two rarely attend red carpet events together and infrequently post about each other online. The fact that Zellweger doesn't even have a verified, personal Instagram account makes this that much easier. They obviously prefer to keep their relationship out of the spotlight. In fact, Anstead discussed this directly. "Renée and my relationship is something that's really private," he told People in September 2021. "It's something I'm not really willing to talk too much about. It's really early in our relationship, and I don't want to put any pressure on that." 

Perhaps Anstead learned this the hard way. His marriage to Christina Haack was very publicized, and the two routinely shared updates on their relationships with fans and followers on social media. While this is not to say that public updates caused the downfall of their marriage, perhaps Anstead is more reticent to share about his relationship with Zellweger after his divorce from Haack. In fact, Zellweger's privacy is one of the things Anstead loves about her. "Renée in particular, she doesn't give herself freely outside of movies," Anstead told ET. "She's a very private person, and that's something I really love about her." 

Ant Anstead has three children. He has his two oldest, Amelie and Archie, whom he shares with his first ex-wife, Louise Storey, followed by Hudson, whom he shares with Christina Haack. Renée Zellweger doesn't have children, but she has become close with Anstead's three kids. While she met Hudson early on in her relationship with Anstead, Zellweger didn't meet Amelie and Archie until January 2022. They all met at Anstead's home in Laguna Beach for Christmas, and the experience went off famously. 

"It was great," Anstead shared with People. "I mean, Renée's so personable, and so great with people, and they've met a few times on FaceTime, so everybody was excited to finally get together. Of course, everybody got on famously. It's really nice." In fact, Zellweger's close relationship with Anstead's children actually helped her career, as well. For her film, "Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy," Zellweger returns as her iconic character, Bridget Jones, except that she's a mother now. "I don't have my own children, but there are a lot of children in my life — a lot of gals and gentlemen who I love who are kind of making their way through, you know, taking care of kids and trying not to mess them up," she told Us Weekly in February 2025. "Am I making the right decision?' And all these things." So the blended family is a blessing for everyone. 

Renée Zellweger and Ant Anstead don't always live together. While the news certainly brought up some strange things about Zellweger and Anstead's relationship, it seems to work for the couple. Reports indicated that the couple moved into a home together in Southern California in April 2023. Adorably, Zellweger discussed this in a sit-down with Hugh Grant for British Vogue in February 2025. When Grant asked where she lived, Zellweger said: "I live in Southern California, near San Diego." When Grant asked why, she replied, "Because that's where my fellow lives, and his little boy." 

However, they don't always cohabitate due to conflicting schedules and work commitments. Around May 2025, rumors began to circulate that there was trouble in paradise because Anstead was working in the U.K. while Zellweger was situated in New York to film "Only Murders in the Building." A spokesperson for Anstead clapped back at this gossip, stating that their "cherished relationship" was perfectly fine. In fact, for many couples, the phenomenon of "living apart together" is an increasingly popular trend, as it enables a sense of personal autonomy and independence in a relationship. While Zellweger and Anstead don't always live apart, some space can actually be very healthy for a secure couple. So even with busy work schedules, the two seem to be thriving. 

While Renée Zellweger and Ant Anstead aren't the type to show off their relationship, they do make concerted efforts to quietly show up for each other and show their support. When Anstead had the Radford Motors gala in Santa Ana, California in August 2021, Zellweger was there by his side. To boot, she was willing to move to California to be near him and his son.

Meanwhile, Anstead flew to London while she was filming "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy." On top of that, he posted a trailer of the film on Instagram and added the sweetest caption that also poked fun at Zellweger's love interest in the film, Leo Woodall: "The missus was busy being brilliant this summer.....she's a bloomin Bridget genius! Oh And Leo... we need to quiet chat down a dark alleyway... x." When Zellweger's hit show "The Thing About Pam" came out, Anstead also posted a trailer and added: "This is one bonkers crazy story... An Epic cast including the smoke show Ren x." It seems like they're both dazzled by the other's work and love showing their support.

The fact that Ant Anstead and Renée Zellweger met on Anstead's car show, "Celebrity IOU: Joyride," says a lot about their mutual love of creative ventures. Anstead has built a TV career around his love of cars, and so he and Zellweger first bonded over cars. "Yeah, [Zellweger's] nice ... I love that she can weld," Anstead told ET. "You get to see a side of her that was really real, and she really shared that..." Their meet-cute was actually the perfectly melding of Anstead and Zellweger's passions. He loves cars. She's an actor, and the fact that there were cars and cameras present made their first connection that much more perfect. 

A source discussed Anstead and Zellweger's relationship as a success primarily because of this creative connection. "Sometimes two people just meet and click, and the timing is right," an insider told People in June 2021. "Renée is creative...and often goes for guys who think out of the box. She's smart, thoughtful, and always looking to expand horizons and nurture those around her." The insider went on: "Both of them are private and dislike public scrutiny, so they have that in common. He's a creative guy with lots of interests, and she likes to write and produce, so they have things to talk about when together." By all accounts, Zellweger and Anstead seem like a perfect match.