Wheeler Dealers star Ant Anstead’s glimpse into romance with Hollywood A-lister Renee Zellweger after cosy Insta snaps
ANT Anstead has given a unique insight into his life with Hollywood star Renee Zellweger.
In an interview with The Sun’s TV Mag, the Wheeler Dealers star told how Oscar-winner Renee is a complete ‘car nut’ and even has her own welding helmet.
He said: “True story'” when asked about her love of cars and added: “Everybody knows, I met Renee on the car show. Pretty cool, right?.”
American actress Renee Zellweger, 55, is famed for her starring role in the Bridget Jones films while Ant, 45, has presented various motoring programmes.
His new show, Ant Anstead: Born Mechanic streams on discovery + on Thursday 24 October.
The pair met when Renee appeared on the British TV star’s show Celebrity IOU Joyride in April 2021, and the pair announced their romance publicly on Instagram that September.
The couple have been loved up ever since and now live together in Orange County.
He said: “I live full time in America. I’ve been in America for eight years. America is my home. It just so happened that my summer was spent here because of this project.
“And obviously, you know, I have family here and commitments here and but, you know, America is my home. If I travel and I go on holiday, I come on holiday in England.”
Despite living in the US, the couple both still spend time in the UK, and Renee recently spent time here filming the latest Bridget Jones film.
And during his interview with TV Mag, Ant opened up a little about the time the couple spent at the annual Goodwood festival with his two children, where they shared a loved up snap together.
He said: “I do a lot of work with Goodwood. So yeah, going to Goodwood and bringing the missus and bringing her into my world and the car world, and doing it with the kids, was great. We had such a great time.
“She loves this country. Everybody knows that she loves England.”
Ant has proudly been using his Instagram feed to write sweet posts about his girlfriend.
In one, back in the summer he gushed on a poster of her upcoming film Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.
“Oh man… she’s so beautiful…!”
He added: “That’s my Ren (lucky boy).”
Under another picture of the pair almost a year ago, cuddling up on a deckchair on the beach, he posted: “This lady Pure. Class. Ren x”
To which fans started excitedly posting in approval.
Renee Zellweger's career so far
Across her three-decade career, Renee Zellweger has won such accolades as two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards and four Golden Globe Awards.
Here is a look at some of her most memorable roles
- The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1995, “Jenny”): The fourth installment in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise, this slasher film marked Renee’s first starring role.
- Jerry Maguire (1996, “Dorothy Boyd”): Renee starred opposite Tom Cruise in this classic sports-comedy drama.
- Nurse Betty (2000, “Betty Sizemore”): For her portrayal of the title character, Renee received a Golden Globe.
- Bridget Jones franchise (2001 – present, “Bridget Jones”): The actress adopts an English accent to play the title character in this franchise. The fourth instalment, titled Bridget Jones: Mad About A Boy is due to be released in February 2025.
- Cold Mountain (2003, “Ruby”): Renee starred opposite Jude Law and Nicole Kidman in this period war drama film. She received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
- Judy (2019, “Judy Garland”): In this biographical drama, Renee portrayed the legendary actress Judy Garland, most notably known for the Wizard of Oz. She received her second Academy Award for her work in this film.
One said: “She’d better marry you and have some beautiful kids congratulating you both.”
Ant’s new TV show is out on Thursday (24 October) and he said: “I am incredibly proud of this show! And it’s the first time in 11 shows and 26 TV shows later that I’ve opened the doors to my family and my private world.”
He added: “It came about because I bought a house, you know, the house was the nucleus of the show, you know, for my parents as they enter the final season their retirement as a chance to say thank you for everything that they’ve done for me and my brothers and my sister.
“The house is probably a five year renovation project, and it’s a huge amount of work. The rear end is condemned. It’s literally falling down. So the dream was crushed, this dream of, you know, changing the lives of my parents and saying thank you.
Now I pay the price of that foolish, heart led endeavour.
Ant Anstead
He explained that growing up, they never owned a home. His parents both worked as school cooks and they grew up in school accommodation.
He said: “My mom collected Lilliput Lane houses and when I started to look around homes to get my parents at home and walked into this one straight away, I was like, Oh, my God, it’s like a life size Lilliput Lane. This is the house. We’re getting this house, and obviously, now I pay the price of that foolish, heart led endeavour.
“And ultimately, one thing I could do really well is build cars. So there was, luckily, a barn on the site, so it made sense that I started to flip some cars and make some profit and put into the house.
“And, you know, discovery, like, great. We’re gonna send a crew. And, I mean, it’s the most authentic TV show I think I’ve ever done, but they just come, tiny crew. Some of it’s recorded on my phone. They just come and press record and pretty chaotic.”
Ant’s brand new show Ant Anstead: Born Mechanic streams on discovery + on Thursday 24 October.