MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Who is Renee Puente? A look at Matthew Morrison’s wife as trolls target him over 'Joker-inspired Grinch' act

The pair got engaged at White Tie and Tiara Ball in London in 2013, and to top it all, their friend Elton John serenaded them with ‘Your Song'

American actor Matthew Morrison is best known for starring in hit TV series ‘Glee’ along with other multiple Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. The 42-year-old actor has been in news most recently for his new lead role of The Grinch for NBC’s ‘The Grinch Musical’ which aired on Wednesday, December 9. The musical is a rendition of the classic children’s book, ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’, and it, of course, required Morrison to get out of his comfort zone to play the titular role.

Apart from being the talk of the town for his work, not much is known about the talented actor’s love story with his wife. For the unversed, Matthew Morrison is married for six years to the 36-year-old musician and model Renee Puente. The duo first met at a White Tie & Tiara Ball in London in 2011. Speaking about the same, he had told The New York Post, “I sang backup for a guy named Don Ho in high school, and spent summers in Hawaii. So when I heard her speak, I said, ‘Howzit, sistah?’ and she laughed. The rest is history.”

For the uninitiated, Renee Puente is also a singer, songwriter and entrepreneur from Hawaii. She has appeared in campaigns for Bebe, and also appeared as an extra in ‘Divergent’, the film based on the book series. She was also seen in the TV series, ‘The Exes.’ According to The Sun, Matthew popped the big question to Renee with a sapphire and diamond ring while horseback riding in Maui. The pair got engaged at White Tie and Tiara Ball in London in 2013, and to top it all, their friend Elton John serenaded them with ‘Your Song'. The couple gave birth to their first son in 2017 and named him Revel James.

Speaking about his latest work with NBC, a lot of social media users stormed to Twitter to speak about Matthew Morrison’s role of The Grinch. A majority of them trolled the actor after he had revealed how he pulled off the legendary character after getting inspired by Joaquin Pheonix’s Joker. Speaking on the same, one said, “Matthew Morrison is doing a Phoenix Joker and just threatened the families at home. #grinchmusical” One person tweeted, “I am dying. This is so bad. @GrinchMusical  is atrocious. It's worse than Cats. Who did this?” Another added, “We can all agree that Grinch the musical starring Matthew Morrison should have never happened right?”  One posted, “NBC was doing this TV variant of the grinch Broadway musical and it was ok. Especially confused why Morrison said he was leaning into a Phoenix Joker angle when I see none of that on display.” Another expressed, “I can tell Matthew Morrison modeled his grinch off the joker because I feel like I’m watching a crime happening.” One individual shared, “Apparently Matthew Morrison took inspiration from Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker for his rendition of the Grinch and I think I’m gonna vomit.”