Renee Zellweger and Ant Anstead’s love story might have started as a Hollywood surprise, but four and a half years later, it’s proving to be the real deal.
The Oscar-winning Bridget Jones star, now 56, is still swooning over her 46-year-old boyfriend—TV host and car enthusiast Ant Anstead. With his charming grin, easy charisma, and sculpted arms, he’s become the man who managed to win over one of Hollywood’s most private leading ladies.
Their romance, born on the set of Celebrity IOU Joyride in 2021, has since blossomed quietly but deeply. Yet, sources close to the couple say there’s still one ghost haunting their seemingly perfect relationship—Renee’s “humiliating” four-month marriage to country singer Kenny Chesney.
“Renee’s never completely shaken that experience,” a source reveals. “The annulment, the speculation—it was a public ordeal that scarred her emotionally. It still affects how she sees marriage today.”
Back in 2005, Zellweger and Chesney shocked fans when they tied the knot on a beach after just five months of dating—only to end things four months later. When Renee cited “fraud” as the legal reason for the annulment, rumors exploded. She later clarified it was just a legal term, but the damage was done.
Now, nearly two decades later, Chesney’s new memoir Heart Life Music has cracked that old wound wide open. In it, he admits that every woman in his life—Renee included—took a backseat to his music.
“My relationships always crumbled,” he writes. “Music came first. Then songwriting. Then fans and my career. Everything else had to wait.”
According to insiders, those words hit Renee hard. “She’s furious he’s rehashing that chapter,” a friend says. “It’s like he’s reminding the world she was never a priority. It’s another wave of humiliation.”
Despite the emotional turbulence, Renee has built a new, grounded life with Ant. She’s formed close bonds with his children—Amelie, 22, Archie, 19, and Hudson, 6—and the couple’s Southern California home is a cozy blend of family, love, and laughter.
But when the topic of marriage comes up, everything stops cold.
“She loves Ant deeply and wants to move forward,” an insider shares. “But whenever marriage is mentioned, she freezes. Ant’s patient, but it’s hard on him. He’s ready—he’s sure she’s ‘the one.’”
After two divorces, Ant calls Renee his “third time lucky.” Friends say he’s been enamored with her since Jerry Maguire and considers her the woman of his dreams. “He adores how real she is—no Hollywood ego, no pretense,” says the insider.
Renee, meanwhile, is just as smitten. She affectionately calls him “my fellow,” saying their meeting felt “meant to be.” But sources say she’s still haunted by superstition—that somehow, making it official could jinx what they have.
“She’s terrified history could repeat itself,” the source adds. “Their relationship is so good, she’s afraid marriage could ruin it.”
Still, friends aren’t ruling out a surprise elopement. “Ant would marry her tomorrow if she asked,” one insider teases. “A quiet courthouse wedding might be exactly their style—no fuss, no spotlight, just love.”
