Is Renée Zellweger married? Inside whirlwind romance with Kenny Chesney and Doyle Bramhall II
Four-time Oscar award-winning actress Renée Zellweger's personal life has been of interest to her legion of fans as much as her professional pursuits. It is one of the reasons why a lot of fans were shocked when the actress married country singer Kenny Chesney on May 9, 2005. They had known each other for five months before hopping on the wedding bandwagon and fans of the couple received the news about the marriage running its course four months later.
Zellweger's fans were surprised as she cited "fraud" as the reason for her relationship coming to an end. The shocking split and the fact the annulment documents had the word "fraud" marked on it sparked a lot of gossips, most of it was related to Chesney's sexual orientation. The singer had 20 gold-rated albums to his name, he had recorded more than 40 Top 10 singles but the only news the tabloids were running about him was about his sexuality. More about that in a bit, but here's how Zellweger and Chesney's whirlwind romance began.
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Kenny Chesney and Renée Zellweger
Kenny Chesney wrote songs inspired by Renée Zellweger before they met
Zellweger and Chesney first met in 2005, during NBC's 'Concert of Hope', a tsunami relief fund organized on January 15 that year. The actress had split with musician Jack White around the time and she had planned to pass a note to Chesney at the telethon. But their publicists met backstage and her interest in 'The Good Stuff' singer was made clear.
After the meeting, it was revealed that the singer too had been through a phase in the past where he was crushing on Zellweger and even wrote the song 'You Had Me From Hello' inspired by her. He had just watched the movie 'Jerry Maguire' and Zellweger's character Dorothy Boyd said 'You Had Me From Hello' to Maguire (played by Tom Cruise) during a romantic speech.
In a 2002 interview, he listed Zellweger's name along with Charlize Theron and Janet Jackson, while revealing the "three sexiest people" according to him. "Here's a country girl who's still down to earth," he said about Zellweger. "You never see her coming", then--wham!--there she is. And that makes her really, really sexy. Plus she seems like the kind of girl who could fit in and be at home anywhere," he explained.
Kenny Chesney and Renée Zellweger's wedding
The stealth couple hinted at a romance on April 29 at Chesney's concert in Jacksonville. The actress showed up on stage to deliver a margarita and a kiss to the singer and nine days later the pair exchanged vows. It was a simple ceremony during sunset on St. John in the Virgin Islands with 35 close family and friends in attendance. This group didn't include the paparazzi or any celebrity attendees.
“It was a very spare service,” said a guest, a close friend of the couple to People. “It wasn’t about big parties. It wasn’t about grand gestures or massive $40,000 displays of flowers. It was about two very happy people finding each other," they said. In a statement, Chesney called himself the "luckiest man alive". He said, "To be so in love with someone who is so perfect for me—it’s just hard to imagine that I’m not going to wake up.”
Kenny Chesney and Renée Zellweger separate
As dreamy as the couple's wedding was, it ran its course in four months and they had their marriage annulled. The documents were filed by Zellweger where she listed "fraud" as the reason giving rise to a number of speculations. Shortly after, she clarified in a statement that "the term 'fraud' as listed in the documentation is simply legal language and not a reflection of Kenny's character."
In a joint statement, Chesney and Zellweger said "the miscommunication of the objective of their marriage at the start is the only reason for this annulment. Renée and Kenny value and respect each other and are saddened that their different objectives prevent the success of this marriage." This was when Chesney's sexuality had become tabloid fodder and he decided to set the record straight.
Kenny Chesney sets the record straight
In 2007, on an episode of '60 Minutes', Kenny decided to put an end to these rumors about him being gay saying "It's not true. Period. Maybe I should have come out and said, 'No, I'm not [gay],' but I didn't want to draw any more attention to it. [...] I didn't have to prove to anybody that I wasn't [gay]. I didn't feel like I really did.
"The only fraud that was committed was me thinking that I knew what it was going to be like, that I really understood what it was like to be married, and I really didn't," he explained. The couple maintained they were amicable after their relationship ended.
Renée Zellweger and Doyle Bramhall II
Renée Zellweger called Doyle Bramhall II a 'special person'
Zellweger began dating Bramhall in 2012, two years after he split from his ex-wife Susannah Melvoin. During a chat with US Weekly, Zellweger gushed about her songwriter-drummer boyfriend calling him a "very special person". They first met each other while attending the University of Texas in the early '90s but didn't date each other back then.
The couple ran into each other many years later in Los Angeles and they immediately became aware of their chemistry. “Things went from there,” an insider had told the outlet in 2013. “Renee’s really happy and has a new life."
Renée Zellweger was paying off Doyle Bramhall II's credit card bills
The court documents of Melvoin and Bramhall's divorce proceedings revealed Zellweger allowed her boyfriend to live with her for free. She was also paying off his credit card bills which amounted to $4,000 to $5,000 a month and they also brought to fore his expenses from 2015 which added up to $60,000.
This information was dragged into the divorce settlement by Melvoin. She had requested that the money Bramhall was receiving from Zellweger be included as a part of figuring out his owed child and spousal support. According to the documents, Zellweger had defended her then-boyfriend, stating that the credit card arrangement was agreed upon as a loan, and she expects full repayment.
Renée Zellweger and Doyle Bramhall II broke up in 2019
According to an anonymous source, Zellweger and Bramhall separated in 2019 because of their hectic schedules. "Doyle's touring with Eric Clapton, and Renée's been filming in Los Angeles. He performed at a close friend's memorial service in Austin with his family, and Renée wasn't there to lend support."
Who is Renée Zellweger dating in 2021?
For those wondering, Zellweger is not married and she's not publicly dating anyone at the moment. She will be present at the 93rd Academy Awards and is one of the presenters for the evening alongside Brad Pitt, Laura Dern, and Joaquin Phoenix.