Did Renée Zellweger Ever Date Her ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ Co-Stars Colin Firth and Hugh Grant?
Renée Zellweger has been a Hollywood mainstay for over two decades. Her early experience in romantic comedies led to the star landing some high-profile dramatic roles. These days, Zellweger is known for her ability to transform completely into a character she’s playing.
One of Zellweger’s earliest roles was as the love-challenged Bridget Jones in the franchise of the same name. While Zellweger’s personal life was thrown into harsh focus because of the hit franchise, Zellweger herself never dated either of her onscreen Bridget Jones’s Diary love interests.
Renée Zellweger rose to fame because of the ‘Bridget Jones’ franchise
Zellweger had appeared in a number of films by the time she was cast in Bridget Jones’s Diary in 2001. The actor received some backlash at the time that she was cast in the role of Bridget Jones due to the fact that she wasn’t British – but Zellweger tackled the role with determination and focus.
The film tells the story of a British woman named Bridget, who makes a habit of writing in her diary about things that she wants to happen in her life. Jones realizes that her words have power when two handsome men, played by Colin Firth and Hugh Grant, both start vying for her affection.
According to IMDb, Jones ends up forming a romantic attachment to Firth’s character, Mark. The film was so successful that it spawned two sequels, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones’s Baby. The series helped to solidify Zellweger’s status in Hollywood, earning her critical acclaim and making her a huge star.
Renée Zellweger never dated either of her ‘Bridget Jones’ boyfriends
The sequel to Bridget Jones’s Diary, the 2004 release Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, continued Jones’s story, revealing what happens when Bridget and Mark run into some bumps in their relationship. In 2016, fans caught up with Bridget again in Bridget Jones’s Baby, watching how Bridget deals with an unexpected pregnancy, all while handling Mark’s reappearance in her life.
While Zellweger enjoyed red-hot romances with Firth and Grant onscreen, in real life, things never got personal between the actor and her leading men. Zellweger never dated either Firth or Grant, but she did become very good friends with Grant. In a 2020 interview, Grant admitted that he still stays in touch with Zellweger.
As reported by Hello Magazine, Grant said, “I love Renée. She’s one of the few actresses I haven’t fallen out with.” He even called Zellweger a “genius,” saying, “We still exchange long emails, hers, in particular, at least 70 pages each, interesting stuff, but quite hard to decipher, and she’s a properly good egg and a genius.”
Who has Renée Zellweger dated?
Although Zellweger never got romantic with Grant or Firth, she has dated several high-profile performers. A few of the famous men in her life include comedian Jim Carrey, musician Jack White, and acclaimed actor Bradley Cooper. She was also briefly married to singer Kenny Chesney – but their marriage was annulled after just a matter of weeks in 2005.
These days, Zellweger is in a romance with Ant Anstead, the British TV personality and car enthusiast who was previously married to Christina El Moussa. Zellweger and Anstead were first linked in the summer of 2021 and are reportedly still together.
While Zellweger and Anstead keep their romance very low-key, rarely posting on social media or speaking out about each other in interviews, it seems safe to say that their relationship might just go the distance.
