Renée Zellweger and her boyfriend Ant Anstead may keep to themselves, but when they chose to, they can really play up the passion in their relationship.

Dating for three years, the notoriously private couple have only made a handful of appearances, whether it be in public or on social media, but they have all been full of love and admiration for each other.

Continue to read how their relationship has progressed over the years.

How Renée Zellweger and Ant Anstead met

Zellweger and Anstead first met on the set of his renovation show Celebrity IOU: Joyridewhich he co-hosts with Cristy Lee, in early 2021. The show sees A-Listers work to gift refurbished cards to people in their lives.

In Zellweger’s case, she gifted her remodeled cars to twin brothers and caretakers, Jerome and Jerald Cowan, who looked after her friend and former publicist, Nanci Ryder, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2014 and passed away in 2020.

The British TV presenter Bridget Jones’ Diary The stars ended up bonding on set, setting off the sparks of their romance.

Anstead, later commented on the chance meeting, telling People, “I’m really grateful to the show because these amazing things happen in your world and sometimes when things collide, they collide at the most obscure times when you least expect them,” he said. “And that’s what happened in this case.”

Confirming their relationship

Just days after Anstead had finalized his divorce with ex-wife Christina Haack in June 2021, it was revealed by multiple news publications that he and Zellweger were dating.

They were spotted together during 2021’s Fourth of July holiday, but their first official public appearance was one month later at the Radford Motors gala in Santa Ana, California. Zellweger, 54, and Anstead, 44, took a snap at the event with guests Lydia and Doug McLaughlin.

Also in August, Anstead broke his silence about the then-new relationship. In an appearance on E!’s Daily Pop, he shared, “Look … everybody knows that Renée and I have become quite close, because we kept it secret for a while, and unfortunately some pictures were taken and put out there.”

They decided to make their relationship Instagram official in September, after three months of dating, with a sweet black-and-white photo of the both of them smiling.

Meeting Anstead’s children

During Thanksgiving in 2021, Zellweger seemed to have met Anstead’s then two-year-old son Hudson, who he shares with ex-wife Haack. They went to a New Orleans Saints football game, with Anstead posting a photo of Zellweger holding Hudson while in the stands to his Instagram Story.

The Academy Award winning-actress later met Anstead’s older children, daughter Amelie, 18, and son Archie, 15, who he shares with his ex-wife Louise Storey, during Christmas. They older children lived in the UK with their mother, and were unable to visit the US due to COVID restrictions and border closures.

“It was great,” the car expert told People of the meeting. “I mean, Renée’s so personable, and so great with people, and they’ve met a few times on FaceTime, so everybody was excited to finally get together.”

The actress got on well with Anstead’s daughter in particular, with him adding, “She and Ren really hit it off. Just as two girls.”

In March 2022, the actress finally opened up about her new relationship. Looking back on the moment they met almost one year on, Zellweger says meeting Anstead was “serendipity”.

Being asked byHarper’s Bazaar whether she thought Ryder brought her closer to her love, Zellweger responded., “Yeah, we do joke about that. She’s always doing her best. It made me smile. It made me smile to think on this, yeah, the serendipity of it all.”

She was previously married to singer Kenny Chesney in 2005 but annulled the marriage four months later. She also dated actor Bradley Cooper for two years, separating in 2011, as well as musician Doyle Bramhall II.

The couple continued to spend time together, also spending the next year’s holidays together before celebrating their two year anniversary in April 2023 with a collection of photos.

Moving in together

They took another big step in April, moving in together after Anstead sold his beloved Laguna Beach home in favor of a house “they both loved”.

“Temple is sold,” he told Peopleadding that the sale “came at the right time, for another property and a change in my personal life that I’m really pleased about. So I was like, yeah. I made the call there and then.”

In July 2023, Anstead shared the first photo of Zellweger with his two eldest children, with the four dressed in formal attire. The photo sparked rumors that the pair were engaged, but they were quickly shut down.

The couple also spent 2023’s holiday season together, with Anstead leaving hints that Zellweger was present at his celebrations. On Thanksgiving he included a placard of her name on the table, and on Christmas he included an ornament of two characters in a red car, labeled with the names “Ant” and “Renée”, which he also put up the year before.

Now Anstead has posted an insight into their home life together, after the couple seemingly hosted a close friend, British broadcaster Kate Quilton.

In her post, she said “Thank you @ant_anstead, to you and your tribe, for the deepest bear hug of a welcome. Until next time.” The presenter posted her post to his Instagram story, adding “Ren and I loved having you over….. Now hurry up and come back to Cali!” He also commented on the post, “Come back already!!!! Cali calls for you! Ren and I have the spare room poised.”