Renee Zellweger’s dating life has long been a subject that held endless fascination for the tabloids. Zellweger, who has previously been romantically attached to several famous men, has also been rumored to have dated a handful of other A-list men. Gossip Cop was curious about why these stories continue to pop up about the two-time Oscar winner, so we began our investigation.
Who Is She Dating Now?
Renee Zellweger was most recently connected to Doyle Bramhall II, a musician, whom she’d dated since 2012. In 2019, the two reportedly split, leaving Zellweger single once again. The actress told People that even after her last relationship ended, she realized that love “kind of stays,” adding, “And that over time, even when you think it’s gone, reflecting on it, it’s still very much there. It’s kind of great, actually.” As of right now, Zellweger is enjoying her current period of “normalcy” and spending time with her dogs. “And the dogs certainly help,” Zellweger said. “Just little reminders of what’s truly valuable.” Now that we’ve caught up with the present, let’s take a look back at Zellweger’s past romances.
Who Has Renee Zellweger Dated?
Obviously, Renee Zellweger has dated some of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors over the years. From the ’90s to today, Zellweger has had a diverse cast of beaus to call her own. The list is sure to cause a great deal of envy.
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Doyle Bramhall II
As we mentioned previously, Zellweger and Doyle Bramhall II dated from 2012 to 2019. The former couple first became romantically involved two years after Bramhall and his wife, with whom the musician/songwriter/producer shares two children, divorced. In the end, though they spent seven years together, their relationship came to an end, reportedly in May of 2019.
Bradley Cooper
A few years earlier, in 2009, Renee Zellweger began seeing Silver Linings Playbook star Bradley Cooper. The two actors first connected on the set of their film Case 39. Both Zellweger and Cooper kept their relationship under wraps for the most part, but in 2010, Cooper gushed to Entertainment Tonight, seemingly about their time together on set, “I can’t say enough about her. I never met her before this, but I just love her. I love coming to work. I love acting with her. I can learn so much from her.” The relationship eventually ran its course, however, and the two reportedly split after about two years together.
Jack White
In 2003, while working on the Civil War drama Cold Mountain, Zellweger met White Stripes frontman Jack White. White contributed to the movie’s soundtrack and played a troubadour in the film. Though both White and Zellweger were very private about their relationship, they did attend the 2004 Oscars together, where Zellweger won her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Cold Mountain. The two enjoyed a relationship that lasted for about a year and a half before they both went their separate ways in late 2004. Speaking with People, Zellweger’s publicist reported that the two “remain good friends. No scandal. No new relationships.” This seems to be how most of Zellweger’s relationships come to a close; no drama, no hard feelings.
Kenny Chesney
Zellweger generally refuses to speak ill of any of her former partners, including her ex-husband Kenny Chesney. The pair married, then had their marriage annulled, in 2005, making the relationship very short-lived. Zellweger cited “fraud” as the reason for leaving the marriage, which was then spun into a series of ridiculous, speculative rumors, despite Zellweger’s protestations.
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Shortly after the news of the annulment, and the “fraud” description, Zellweger released a statement to “clarify that the term ‘fraud’ as listed in the documentation is simply legal language and not a reflection of Kenny’s character.”
The statement continued, “I would personally be very grateful for your support in refraining from drawing derogatory, hurtful, sensationalized or untrue conclusions and greatly appreciate your understanding that we hope to experience this transition as privately as possible.”
Despite the actress’ strongly-worded statement, rumors continued to circulate. Chesney, according to these rumors, was actually secretly gay, which was why the couple went their separate ways. A little over ten years after the marriage ended, Zellweger opened up to the Advocate about the experience and those rumors in particular.
“That made me sad,” she told the outlet. “It made me sad that somehow people were using that as a way to be cruel and calling someone gay as a pejorative, which has fateful consequences. Of course, there’s the bigger-picture problem of why anyone had to make up a story at all.” Perhaps this early brush with a high-profile romance prepared Zellweger for the inevitability of nonsensical, hurtful stories about herself and her former partners.
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Jim Carrey
After meeting on the set of Me, Myself, & Irene in 1999, Zellweger and comedian Jim Carrey found themselves hitting it off. So much so that the two began dating after filming ended and eventually got engaged by 2000. This relationship was similarly short-lived, however, and the stars amicably split that same year.
How Renee Zellweger Handles Tabloid Rumors
Tabloids have relentlessly written about every relationship Renee Zellweger has had, and even some that never officially took place. Zellweger admitted in an interview with InStyle that she used to take these tabloid write-ups very hard. “I was devastated about a breakup, and it was plastered all over the tabloids. None of it true, all of it humiliating. Never mind that living the experience [of the relationship] was plenty,” the actress revealed.
Her brother, Drew, convinced his famous sister to look at these tabloid tales in a different light. One day, after the two took a trip to the supermarket, Drew secretly bought a couple of magazines featuring Zellweger without her noticing. On the drive home, Zellweger noticed her brother reading something and saw his shoulders shaking. At first, she thought he might be crying, but she soon realized his reaction was entirely different. “He was in tears; he was laughing so hard, he could barely breathe,” the actress recalled.
“He’s reading my quotes from this supposed interview I had done. Things I supposedly said about this personal relationship that I have never talked about and never will.” Zellweger went on to note, “My brother taught me that this is what it is. This is not a proper representation of you and how you live your life. The choices you make, this is not. It is entertainment, and it’s funny if you look at it in the right way.” That’s a very helpful perspective to have, especially since the tabloids have not slowed down one bit in their baseless speculation about Zellweger’s dating life.
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Renee Zellweger’s Rumored Partners
Brad Pitt
Since ending her relationship with Doyle Bramhall II in early 2019, Zellweger has been linked to several male celebrities. In September 2019, NW reported that Zellweger was interested in dating Brad Pitt. A so-called “insider” told the outlet that the Bridget Jones Diary actress supposedly thought “Brad is looking hotter than ever.” That same insider apparently also had some insight into how Pitt felt about Zellweger as well, proclaiming, “He definitely thinks she’s smoking – so if Renee made a play, he wouldn’t turn her away.” Gossip Cop doubted this story from the beginning, so we reached out to Zellweger’s rep who denied the claims, adding, “Who comes up with this [expletive]?” There was absolutely no truth to this rumor whatsoever.
Colin Firth
A couple of months later, Woman’s Day claimed there was a romance brewing between Zellweger and her Bridget Jones Diary co-star Colin Firth. Firth had allegedly been leaning on Zellweger in the aftermath of his divorce from his wife, Livia Giuggioli. “Renee has been Colin’s rock over the last few months amid his marriage breakdown,” a supposed source told the tabloid. “She’s been jetting back and forth to London to comfort him and even staying at his home on many visits. There’s always been a strong connection and chemistry between the pair, but of course, they’ve both been in relationships.” The report seemed more like fan fiction than accurate reporting to Gossip Cop. We checked in with our source close to the situation who confirmed our suspicions that the article was entirely false.
Tom Cruise
Firth isn’t the only one of Zellweger’s on-screen romances who was rumored to be interested in romancing the Judy star. Tom Cruise, who starred opposite Zellweger in 1996’s Jerry McGuire, was ready to take his “secret romance” with her to “the next level” and marry her according to a suspect report from NW in April of this year. The outlet’s sources insisted that Zellweger has “always liked Tom,” and “wouldn’t be opposed to Scientology either.” “They’ll want them to marry ASAP and become the new poster couple,” the source confidently concluded. Once again, Gossip Cop reached out to Zellweger’s rep for answers, and once again we were told the story was blatantly false. The rep went on to say the tabloid “should be ashamed for pushing this false BS in the wake of her well-earned success” after the actress took home an Oscar for her well-received performance in Judy.
Tabloids will continue to speculate wildly about Zellweger’s personal life, but it doesn’t seem to bother the actress as much as it did in her younger years. In fact, it almost seems like she gets a kick out of the truly ridiculous, obviously false stories these shameless publications write about her. One thing’s for certain: never trust a tabloid to tell the truth about Zellweger.