Looking every part the muscly mechanic as he promoted his new series last week, Ant Anstead made it very clear to any hot-under-the-collar singles who were queuing to get their tyres changed that he is very much NOT single as he continues his four year romance with none other than our ultimate girl crush, Renee Zellweger.
Revealing how they had bonded over their mutual love of cars, Ant praised Renee as ‘the greatest human I’ve ever met’.
Which, if recent events are anything to go by (and by ‘events’, we mean when he was photographed leaving a wealthy divorcee’s house in May), their relationship status may come as a surprise to Renee’s fans, who urged her to ditch Ant and ‘run’.
‘Run, Renee. Don’t even think of taking him back,’ wrote one well-meaning fan, while another added, ‘She's better off without him.’
But after it was clarified that Ant, 46, had been staying in the guest house of his long-time friend, Julie ‘Jules’ French, after moving out of his rental apartment close by in Laguna Beach, a source now tells Heat that the pair have patched up any differences they may have had and are now stronger than ever.
So much so that they tell us Renee, 56, is ready to tie the knot for the second time. The insider says, ‘They’re back on track in a big way, but it didn’t happen overnight. They did a lot of therapy, which did wonders for them. The whole scandal about him supposedly having a questionable friendship with another woman did rock Renee’s world for a moment, but things quickly got cleared up.
‘Ant went out of his way to reassure her there was nothing shady happening, and she believes him. In a way weathering that storm was like a test of their relationship, and getting through it pushed things forward because they’re both saying that they’re now ready to get married!’
The couple, who began dating in June 2021 have recently been hit by a storm of split rumours after spending months apart while Renee filmed in New York for the fifth series of Disney’s whodunit comedy, Only Murders in the Building, earlier this year.
After sparking engagement rumours at the Bridget Jones 4 premiere in February, when Renee was spotted wearing plasters on her ring finger leading to speculation she was covering a ring, the couple haven’t been spotted together since March.
Ant has also been facing financial difficulty in recent months, with his luxury car company Radford Motors filing for bankruptcy, as well as facing a series of lawsuits from clients worth over $3million – a ‘red flag’ that we recently reported some of Renee’s friends were ‘less understanding’ about.
In May, it was confirmed that Ant had spent ‘a handful of days’ at Julia’s guest house while he was in the US, after moving out of his Laguna Beach home due to filming commitments in England.
At the time, a representative for Ant called the reports of them living ‘separate lives’, ‘misleading’ and confirmed that he and Renee were still in a ‘cherished relationship’.
And last week, the former IOU Joyride host further doubled down on the sentiment, calling Renee ‘the missus’.
Sharing some snaps from their recent trip to the UK on social media, Ant, who didn’t include any pictures of Renee, wrote, ‘Taking the missus for a tour of the west country… Somerset, Devon and Cornwall…’
Yet while it’s likely he used the moniker as a colloquialism for ‘girlfriend’, the source says their romantic trip has been a salve for the time they’ve spent apart this year, and has given Renee the boost she needed to make the next Big Step.
‘No doubt the incredible trip they just took to England helped as Renee came back from just glowing, and telling friends that she’d never been more in love,’ the insider says.
‘The wedding won’t be some big flashy affair, knowing them it will just be at their home in California. Nothing is set in stone yet but the planning has started and they're very clear that they want it to be super informal and low stress. Renee hates having all eyes on her, she’s shockingly shy for such a huge star, privacy is everything to her and Ant respects that.’
Their Big Day, however, is likely to be a family affair, with the couple increasingly living life as a blended family with Ant’s three children – Amelie and Archie, with ex-wife Louise Storey, and Hudson, whose 6th birthday Ant celebrated with his ex Christina Haack last weekend.
And the source says Ant’s dedication to his kids has been a major attraction for Renee. ‘Ant wants his kids to be there and Renee is all for that, she adores them. There’s even some discussion about making the three of them a part of the ceremony, sort of saying vows all together,’ the insider says.
‘Of course she’s spent a lot more time with Hudson, his youngest, because he lives in California and Ant has him 50% of the time, so in a lot of ways Renee is in the stepmom role with him, which she loves.
‘But she’s gotten close to his older kids over the years, too. They come for holidays a lot to see their dad and Renee always makes a big effort with them. She’s told friends Ant is an absolutely amazing dad, it’s one of the things she admires most about him. Marrying him will mean taking on his kids as a part of her family too, and she’s thrilled about that.’
And while Renee is still discreet about their relationship, the source says Ant wants to shout loud and ‘proud’ about how happy he is to be her man – and potential future husband.
The insider says, ‘He can’t help but share things once in a while, he’s very proud to be her man and he wants people to know they’re madly in love and still going strong.
‘He doesn’t overdo it, but things like calling her ‘the missus’ publicly sends out the message that she’s still very much his lady. He can’t help himself but Renee doesn’t mind, she thinks it’s sweet.’
They add, ‘Renee’s friends are very happy for her, she’s had some real duds over the years in the relationship department so everyone is crossing their fingers that Ant's everything she says he is.’