Renee Zellweger and Hugh Grant Have ‘Shared History That No One Else Can Really Understand’

Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant are excited to be promoting their latest Bridget Jones installment as a source reveals how their friendship has stood the test of time and they’re open to new projects together in the very near future.

“Working together again this past year was a dream come true for both of them, being able to reminisce about the decades that have passed and the good old days was a blast,” an insider exclusively tells Closer. “They’d let their friendship lapse a little, but when they got back together for this movie, it was like no time had passed. They’ve vowed not to let that ever happen again. They have so much fun together and this shared history that no one else can really understand.”

The costars posed together on the red carpet at the premiere of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy on January 27 in Paris. The film, which also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leo Woodall, Emma Thompson and Colin Firth, was released two weeks later and received glowing reviews.

Renée, 55, appeared on Today on February 14 to discuss the movie and her friendship with Hugh, 64, saying that it’s “25 years of coming together and catching up through this experience. I’ve just come to know him in a really lovely way and have watched him as he gets married and his family grows and all of this, and yeah, I just adore him.”

Amid her press tour for the film, the source says Renée has been “very respectful” toward boyfriend Ant Anstead and “has made sure to include him” at events.

“It’s been very smooth. He and Hugh get on like a house on fire,” the source says of Ant’s friendship with Hugh. “It helps that Ant’s English, so he gets Hugh’s dry humor and has lots in common with him.”

The source says Hugh’s wife, Anna Elisabet Eberstein, has also been spending time with the couple amid the film’s success.

“And Hugh’s wife is very much part of the gang too. The four of them have enjoyed a lot of dinners together and have even talked about taking a vacation together,” the insider adds.

Renée and Ant, 45, were first linked in June 2021 and were spotted spending time together that July. She then attended the Radford Motors gala with him in August 2021, their first public event together, and their relationship has been going strong ever since.

In April 2024, an insider told Life & Style that the pair were “everything-but-married at this point.”

“They’ve talked about marriage,” the insider told the outlet at the time. “They wouldn’t do anything big, just something small. This summer in London may be the perfect time for that.”

The insider also said that Renée has a great relationship with Ant’s kids. The Celebrity IOU: Joyride host shares older kids Amelie and Archie with his first ex-wife, Louise Herbert, and son Hudson with second ex-wife Christina Haack.

“His kids all get along really well with Renée and always look forward to being with her,” the insider said. “She is kind and nurturing and a lot of fun, too!”