'Bridget Jones' Star Renée Zellweger Sends Rumors Into Overdrive She's Secretly Engaged to Boyfriend Ant Anstead — By 'Doing a Taylor Swift' With Covering on Left Hand
Renée Zellweger covered her wedding finger in band-aids, fueling talk of an engagement to boyfriend Ant Anstead.
Feb. 13 2025, Published 4:30 p.m. ET
Renée Zellweger sparked further engagement rumors by covering up her ring finger with plasters at the New York premiere of the new Bridget Jones movie.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the actress, 55, posed up for snaps on the red carpet sporting the conveniently-placed band-aids.
Zellweger adopted a similar trick at a photocall for her new movie in Italy earlier this month.
She adopted the same trick earlier this month at the UK and Italian premieres of Mad About The Boy, which prompted fans to speculate her boyfriend Ant Anstead, 45, had popped the question.
Superstar Taylor Swift, 35, recently covered her left hand at a party to mark the end of her Eras tour, sparking similar speculation her boyfriend Travis Kelce, 35, had secretly proposed.
Zellweger and Anstead, who began dating in 2021, largely keep their relationship private but the latter did make a very rare comment about his partner during an interview last October.
British TV presenter Anstead has been dating the Hollywood actress since 2021 after meeting on one of this TV shows.
The British TV star said: "I met Renée on a show I host on the Discovery Channel. She was on an episode, blimey, four years ago now."
Going on to jokingly thank the network for their "dating services," he continued: "But unfortunately, while I was filming during the summer, she was also busy, so it didn't work out."
Anstead, who was a 22-year-old police constable when Renée starred in Bridget Jones's Diary all the way back in 2001, was then asked if he is a fan of the franchise.
Zellweger has remained incredibly private about her relationship with Anstead.
He joked: "Blimey, that feels like a trap. I feel like the entire nation is a Bridget Jones fan
"It's a duty for us Brits to be a Bridget Jones fan, so yes, I mean, it's not by any mistake that the movie it on its fourth movie, you know, great movies return and it is a great movie."
The interviewer then enquired whether it feels "weird" to be in a relationship that is "so minutely gazed upon by total strangers."
After some thought, Anstead answered: "I don't give it any time. I mean, ultimately, it is microscopically examined, I'm sure, but I don't really think about that. She's so incredibly normal and I often forget that she's famous."
The band-aid on Zellweger's finger was clearly visible as she mingled with other guests at the New York screening on Wednesday.
Anstead and Zellweger have been dating since 2021, when they met on the set of Discovery+ series, Celebrity IOU Joyride.
The series sees celebrities celebrate deserving people in their lives with refurbished cars.
Zellweger gave a car to twin brothers Jerome and Jerald, who had looked after her friend and former publicist Nanci Ryder after she was diagnosed with ALS.
Anstead later teased the romance, saying: "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, and that's what happened in this case."
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Swift also sparked engagement rumors by hiding her left hand while celebrating the completion of her Eras tour last year.
The couple went public with their relationship that July, but have largely kept their romance out of the spotlight.
However, both have been seen supporting each other's projects, and sometimes give rare glimpses into their life online.
Ant is a father of three children from his previous marriages, Archie, Amelie and Hudson, and often shares pictures of them on his Instagram account.
In 2023, he shared a picture of Renée with teens Archie and Amelie as they attended a ball together.
