Getty Images (3)
Renee Zellweger Plays Peacemaker for BF Ant Anstead and Christina Hall: ‘Things Are Better’
Renée Zellweger has every reason to pat herself on the back now that her boyfriend, Ant Anstead, is friends again with ex Christina Hall (née Haack) after a bitter post-divorce period. She was the one who helped to bring them back together, hoping it’ll pave the way for that long overdue wedding.
“She convinced Ant it’s silly to hold grudges and hated seeing him so worked up. Things are better now. She’s extended the olive branch to Christina, too, and looking forward to a drama-free holiday season,” a source tells Life & Style exclusively.
Christina’s split from third husband Josh Hall in July seems to have brought Ant, 45, and the HGTV star, 41, closer together. The Christina on the Coast star began following her second husband on Instagram shortly after filing for divorce from Josh, 44. Ant reciprocated and is now following his former spouse.
The Wheeler Dealers host even tagged Christina in an October 19 Instagram Story, gushing about their son Hudson’s soccer team’s victory. The Beach Bargains star reshared the post to her Instagram Stories. The exes welcomed their only child in September 2019, one year before splitting.
“It’s no secret Renee’s been yearning to get married and there were plans to tie the knot in England, but it never happened. Obviously, that baggage with Christina was getting in the way and holding Ant up,” the insider continues. “For a while Renée was a little nervous about Ant’s history with Christina but that’s all gone now.”
Now that Ant and Christina no longer have such bitter feelings towards one another, the Oscar winning actress, 55, hopes for a more cordial relationship with the Flip or Flop alum.
“Christina has a friendly relationship with her other ex, Tarek [El Moussa] and his wife, Heather. Renée’s convinced they’re all going to be much better friends from now on, and hopefully she and Ant will finally be able to set that date,” the source dishes about a possible wedding.
Christina shocked fans on September 18, 2020, telling fans she and Ant were separating after only 22 months of marriage.
The Plymouth, England, native took her decision hard, telling fans in a September 26, 2020, Instagram post, “I never gave up on us. I pray Christina’s decision brings her happiness.”
Three weeks later, Ant shared in an Instagram Story that he was taking a “breakup recovery” program run by “human connection specialist” Mark Groves, writing, “I am now on day 30 of this and I have to say it’s been a lifeline for me! If anyone out there needs this, DO IT!”
The exes went on to fight a bitter custody battle over Hudson, eventually agreeing to joint legal and joint physical custody in November 2022.
Ant and Renée met when she filmed an episode of his Discovery+ show Celebrity IOU: Joyride and began dating in June 2021. The happy couple are still going strong.
While the duo has kept their relationship private, Ant has shared occasional photos with his girlfriend on social media. Next to a July 2022 snapshot of the couple seated and Renée smiling and resting her head on Ant’s shoulder, he wrote, “This lady. Pure. Class. Ren x.”
In August 2024, Ant fanned out over Renée upcoming film, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. He shared the first poster for the movie featuring the actress’ smiling face ion an Instagram Story, writing, “Oh man… she’s so beautiful….!” That’s my Ren (lucky boy), along with a heart-eye emoji.
Ant gave a rare response to a question about his romance with Renée during a Tuesday, October 28, appearance on the U.K. talk show Jeremy Vine. The host asked if was “weird” to be in a relationship “so minutely gazed upon by total strangers.”
“I don’t give it any time. I mean, ultimately, it is microscopically examined, I’m sure, but I don’t really think about that. She’s so incredibly normal and I often forget that she’s famous,” Ant responded about his girlfriend of four years.
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Life & Style does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.