Ant Anstead praised his girlfriend, Bridget Jones actress Renee Zellweger in a rare interview on Jeremy Vine on 5 on Thursday. The couple, who have been in a relationship for five years are typically private, but enamoured Ant called her 'the best human I've ever met' in an unguarded moment. The presenter and mechanic was being interviewed about his show, Ant Antstead: Born Mechanic which returned for series three on Quest on Monday. During the interview Ant told Jeremy how his Hollywood actress partner Renee had been involved in the decision to buy the 500-year-old farmhouse he’s restoring as part of the show.

Ant said: 'She [Renee] was there prior to purchasing it, so I obviously take her counsel, and we walked around it and we were like, yeah, this is the house. 'Renée is wonderful. We had our five-year anniversary in April. She’s a wonderful human. The best human I’ve ever met, for a start. She’s absolutely brilliant. Genius. The kindest human on the planet. She’s into cars and houses.' As a picture of Renee flashed up on the screen, Ant mused: 'ahh look at her, she's so attractive', before going on to explain how they met. The pair were partnered together on Celebrity IOU, with Ant sharing: 'We were filming in Los Angeles in the middle of this massive unit, and we had a, an American convertible, but stick [shift]. 'And not many people drive stick in America. And we had to move the car, but Renée just jumped over the door, got in, stuck it in first, and I'm like, yes! That's my girl right there!' 

Ant rarely comments on his relationship with Renee, previously telling People: 'It's something I'm not really willing to talk too much about. 'It's really early in our relationship and I don't want to put any pressure on that.' Yet the couple have gone from strength to strength and in 2024, Ant admitted he sometimes forgets that his girlfriend is famous. 'I mean, ultimately, it is microscopically examined, I'm sure, but I don't really think about that,' he explained on the Jeremy Vine On 5 show. 'She's so incredibly normal and I often forget that she's famous.' Last year Renee offered rare insight into their romance in a joint interview with Hugh Grant for British Vogue. 'I live in Southern California, near San Diego. Because that's where my fellow lives, and his little boy,' she expressed.

Ant shares a son named Hudson, six, with ex-wife Christina Haack. He is also father to two older children Amelia, 21, and Archie, 18, from a previous marriage to ex Louise. His divorce from Christina played out in the public eye, with Ant later confessing that their behaviour in that time was 'shameful'. The duo, who were married from 2018 to 2021, had a contentious custody battle for years, with Ant even unsuccessfully attempting to gain full custody of their child at one point. Now the pair are on the other side of that, with Ant admitting on an episode of The Flip Off it was 'shameful' it took them years to finally be amicable.

'Hudson is five now,' Ant recalled during his guest appearance on the show. 'And in those five years, it’s been really, really difficult. 'And that changed three months ago. The relationship that we have now is really, really important. And it’s been a transformation. 'As parents, it took us four and a half years to get to that point, which is really shameful. 'You and I will be connected forever because we have a kid. So ultimately, I have to stand by the mother of my kid,' he said as he named his ex the winner of the episode.

Ant and Christina's divorce was finalized in June 2021; in April 2022, Ant filed for full custody of Hudson, accusing his ex of only spending a few days a month with their son, using him for social media clout, and risking his medical safety. That same day a judge denied his bid, noting Ant had not given Christina proper notice and had not demonstrated that Hudson was at critical risk in the current shared custody agreement. Through her legal team, Christina called the claims that she put Hudson at risk and was wholly absent in his life 'false allegations' that 'shocked' her. They settled their custody battle in December 2022, and agreed to continue having joint legal and physical custody of their son.