Ant Anstead Breaks Silence Over Renee Zellweger Relationship: 'Kept It Secret for a While'

Ant Anstead is opening up about his budding relationship with Oscar winner Renée Zellwegger. The Celebrity IOU star shares with E!'s Daily Pop that the two of them have grown fond of each other in their time together. "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," Anstead told the Daily Pop hosts. The two reportedly began dating after working together on an episode of Celebrity: IOU. "It was a real pleasure to work with her," he added. "She's [a] super pro and she can weld."

It's not the first time the Wheeler Dealer host gushed about his new love interest. He talked about their relationship previously in an interview with USA Today, jokingly telling the outlet that he "owe[s]" the "Discovery+ dating service." "There's a ton of amazing things about Renée and her private persona is actually really inspiring," he said. "For somebody so high profile, she is incredibly private. And I respect that, and ultimately, from my perspective, the irony of the show being called 'IOU,' it's like, 'Thanks, Discovery.' It's actually I that owe you. And I can recommend Discovery+ dating service to anybody."

The couple's relationship went public just a month after Anstead finalized his divorce from Flip or Flop host Christina Haack. The two announced their breakup in September 2020, just a few weeks after they celebrated their one-year-old son's birthday. The end of the couple's three-year romance shocked their fans. Anstead and Haack began dating in 2017 right after she broke things off with her former husband Tarek El Moussa. Anstead has two other children, daughter Amelie and son Archie, who he shares with his first wife Louise Anstead. According to a source close to Renee, the actress is getting along very well with the reality TV host and his family. "Renée is very kind and caring. … She's never had a child so is enjoying playing with him and watching Ant as a father," they told Us Weekly.