Cue the wedding bells because Ant Anstead and Renee Zellweger seem to be engaged! Ant, 44, has apparently made the big move, because The Sun reported on July 18 that the Bridget Jones’ Diary actress has told friends they’re “tying the knot after a low-key engagement.”
“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.”
Ant and Renee, 54, met while filming his show, Celebrity IOU: Joyride. Renee was on June 2021 episode in honor of her friend and beloved former publicist Nanci Ryder. The episode centered around renovating vehicles for the twin brother nurses who provided care for the celebrity flack. Tragically, Nancy was diagnosed with ALS in 2014, prior to her 2020 death. It was a heartwarming and meaningful beginning to the epic relationship.
Their romance was later reported and eventually confirmed when the paparazzi caught them kissing on the balcony of his Laguna Beach house in early July. Come Aug. 22, the pair officially went “Instagram official” when Ant posted a photo that featured himself, Renee, and his Celebrity IOU: Joyride co-star Cristy Lee. In his caption, Ant called the Oscar winner “incredibly magical.”
Ant previously revealed that he and Renee had been dating for “a while” before news of their romance surfaced online. “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.
In March 2022, Renee revealed details about her “serendipitous” meeting with Ant. She was grieving the loss of her good friend and publicist, Nanci Ryder, who passed away in June 2020 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). While pondering how to celebrate the twin nurses (Jerome and Jerald Cowan) who cared for Nanci in her final days, she happened on an episode of Celebrity IOU, a program where a famous person pays tribute to someone in their life by renovating the person’s home. The host of that program? Ant. Renée got involved in the show, and the episode began filming in June 2021. While Renee gifted the twins a pair of classic cars, she and Ant fell in love.
[Source: Hollywood Life]