Ant Anstead and Renee Zellweger’s Relationship Timeline: From TV Show Guest to True Love

Finding love on the job! When it was revealed in the summer of 2021 that Ant Anstead‘s new romance following his split from Christina Hall was with A-List, Oscar-winning movie star Renee Zellweger, fans were fascinated by how the two would have even met. It turned out the pair clicked when Renee shot an episode of Ant’s Discovery+ show Celebrity IOU: Joyride.

On April 23, 2022, Ant revealed to fans exactly when they started falling for each other. Next to a photo of the pair smiling and sitting on the back of a fire truck, the Wheeler Dealers host wrote, “WOW! This just popped up in memories. One year ago today! Sat on the back of a fire engine on the final day of filming having handed two amazing men a car as a thank you from Ren.” Ant added, “Amazing what can happen in just one year,” referring to their romance.

The couple were able to keep their romance undercover for their first few months of dating until reports began surfacing in late June 2021 that the two were dating. They confirmed speculation about their relationship by getting snapped in paparazzi photos on the balcony of Ant’s Laguna Beach home on July 4, 2021. Renee soon became a regular presence at her boyfriend’s pad, seen in snapshots enjoying a morning cup of coffee on his balcony while looking out at the ocean.

Once the cat was out of the bag, Ant and Renee began going out in public together, holding hands on Home Depot runs and openly making out on the beach. They were frequently joined by his 2-year-old son Hudson, whom Ant shares with Christina, with Renee sweetly doting on her boyfriend’s little boy.

“Renee’s really lovely … It’s really nice … It’s kind of amazing,” Ant told Extra about his relationship with the acting superstar in August 2021. He then joked about their PDA-filled photos, telling the outlet, “I thought we had done really well to keep it secret and keep it under the radar … I know some of the pictures you’re talking about … There is a picture of us … and my mom texted us and she said, ‘What are you, 15?!'”

Christina and Ant Anstead's Love Story Burned Bright and Fizzled Fast

The pair made their first public appearance as a couple at the Radford Motors gala at the Lyon Air Museum in Santa Ana, California, on August 9, though they didn’t pose for red carpet photographs. Ant shared his first Instagram photo alongside Renee on August 23, but it was to promote the episode of his show that she appeared on, though he did call her “the incredibly magical Renee Zellweger” in the caption.

It was on September 16 that the two became fully Instagram official, when Ant shared a photo of Renee giving him a huge hug while the pair smiled and looked so in love. The couple’s romance is still going strong, as he shared a snapshot of the couple kissing on their way to a black-tie event on March 17, 2022. “This lady x Ren,” Ant gushed about his girlfriend in the caption with a heart emoji.