Falling in love is never easy and Matthew Morrison’s romantic life has proved that
making headlines over the years.
Long before he found the right one, his now-wife, Renee Puente, Morrison dealt with enough heartache
and confusion for a lifetime.
He and his wife are now growing a beautiful family but have seen their fair share of obstacles.
From having miscarriages to having a baby during the pandemic, and now a sexual harassment
scandal that resulted in Matthew being fired from So You Think You Can Dance.
We are going to tango deep into this story!
You’ll know Matthew Morrison from the hit TV show Glee where he played the oh-so-lovable
and charming teacher, Will Schuester.
He is what Hollywood calls a triple threat as he is a dancer, singer-songwriter, and
actor.
But what’s better than a triple-threat, you ask?
How’s about two?
That’s right, Renee is also an actress, model, and musician.
Although she may not be as well-known as her hubby, she has been in some pretty big movies
and campaigns.
She has modeled for Bebe and Calvin Klein.
She has also appeared in Divergent.
Renee is Hawaiian and it’s her heritage that actually got her and her future husband
together.
The pair first met at a Grammys party in 2011.
As Matthew was leaving the event, Renee caught his attention.
He walked past and heard her speaking pidgin which is Hawaiian slang.
“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,” he said.
While that isn’t really a pickup line, it did work for the American Horror Story alum.
Renee found this quick wit very sweet and quirky.
“When he came up to me, I had no idea who he was.
I just started laughing because it was so adorable to see this cute white boy talking
pidgin,” she said.
Long before Morrison fell for Puente, he had a long list of A-list women that just couldn’t
fill his void for a partner.
Kristen Bell was among the few he dated.
Ahh, it was a college romance.
He then went on one date with model, Kelly Brook.
The actor stirred up some controversy when he said in an interview that she wasn’t
the brightest bulb in the box.
He denied any bad blood between them and said, “Woke up to a flurry of emails regarding
Kelly Brook.
Don’t always believe what you read.
Kelly is a wonderful person and a good friend.”
The Glee star even dated one of his co-stars for a Broadway beat, Lea Michele.
They dated long before being cast together, and remained good friends after the break-up.
Perhaps his most well-known and serious whirlwind romance was with Chrishell Stause.
The pair was even engaged!
But that wasn’t as romantic as it sounds.
Morrison felt the pressure to pop the question.
“I didn’t do it for the right reasons.
I was thinking, ‘This is the age when I should start having kids, so this is what
I should do.’
After I did it, I immediately felt in my heart it wasn’t right.
My instant thought was ‘What did you just do?’” he said.
Eventually, the couple decided to break off the engagement.
Morrison said that Puente loves that he had so many past love stories!
“Honestly, Renee loves the fact that I went through all that — a lot of relationships,
some one-night stands.
I learned a lot about who I was and, more importantly, the person I wanted to be with.
My wife came into my life at such a great time.”
Matthew and Renee dated for two years before the actor popped the question.
Although there isn’t much known about their engagement, he did tweet about the upcoming
nuptials.
"An incredible night of love.
I'm going to marry my best friend!” he wrote.
Okay, Matthew, that is adorable!
A year later, they shared an intimate ceremony on the island of Maui, Hawaii.
To top it all off, their friend Elton John serenaded them with Your Song.
That’s right, their friend.
How lucky are they?
Morrison opened up about how he teared up when Puente was saying her vows.
He also said that both of their vows were very representative of them.
They were filled with heartfelt sentiments and comedy.
Wait, their wedding day gets even more romantic!
“When I was a child, I dreamed of one-day dancing hula for my husband on our wedding
day…
Not only did that happen, but I also got to dance with him!
I was always that girl who dreamt of her wedding until I got older, and then I didn't want
to get married anymore.
But Matthew changed my world,” Renee said.
Come on you two, give the rest of us a chance!
Unlike most A-list couples who rush into marriage and then rush into kids only to rush into
divorce, these two wanted to take their time and enjoy each other’s company because once
they had kids, they knew it wouldn’t be about them anymore.
After the wedding, they were on a two-year plan to expand their family.
Ahh, how refreshing to hear such normality in Hollywood.
The couple stuck to their two-year plan almost to the day.
They welcomed their son Revel in 2017.
Sounds like a peculiar name, right?
Well, wait until you hear the sweet sentiment behind their son’s name!
“We wanted our boy to have an R name.
We were just having a conversation and talking about how we want to revel in our child, just
revel in love.
It’s not really a typical name, but it’s not so weird,” the Broadway star said.
They welcomed their daughter, Phoenix in 2021.
Their pregnancy announcement came 6 months after Renee revealed that she had suffered
a tragic miscarriage.
“I just went through one of the most vulnerable, raw, confusing experiences that a woman could
ever endure.
Matthew and I have been so intentionally trying to get pregnant and call our child that I
know is waiting for us.
We got pregnant and I miscarried.
I found out at four weeks and began the cycle of miscarriage on my sixth week,” she said.
What a
heart-breaking experience.
The pair have since stated that they are happy with their family of four and don’t plan
to upsize any soon, with Renee calling Phoenix’s arrival her last.
The couple is relatively private with their relationship, but the actor does post sweet
devotions to his wife on special occasions.
For her birthday he said, “Today is one of my favorite days because my life partner
was born.
I am eternally grateful for the solid foundation she has created for our family.
I’m humbled by her affection that so effortlessly flows outward.
I love you.”
He also paid tribute to his wife and called her his teacher, his inspiration, and his
best friend.
Matthew said she inspires and always leads with grace that galvanizes their family together.
In June 2022, their marriage was tested.
It had many wondering if the Glee curse had struck again.
In the minds of some Glee fans, the so-called curse has been implicated in the tragic early
deaths of three cast members.
Cory Monteith), Mark Salling and Naya Rivera ().
Many fans find it despicable that people can rule these tragedies as a curse.
But it seems most members of the cast do suffer scandal and heartache.
Now, Matthew was fired from So You Think You Can Dance for an alleged sexual harassment
incident.
He had a short-lived stint as a host in season 17.
“It is my deepest regret to inform you that I will be leaving the show.
I did not follow competition production protocols, preventing me from being able to judge the
competition fairly.
I cannot apologize enough to all involved,” Morrison said in a statement.
Fox later revealed that the star was let go due to inappropriate messages sent to a female
contestant.
The unidentified dancer complained to producers about Matthew because the messages made her
feel uncomfortable.
An inside source from the show said, “The messages contained sexual innuendos.
He didn’t have sex with the contestant, they never met up off-set, but the messages
crossed a line.”
A few days after the news broke, Morrison took to Instagram to defend himself and posted
a video titled Just To Clarify.
In the video, Matthew says that he has nothing to hide.
He even read the text he sent, “I will read you the one message that I wrote to the dancer:
‘Hey, it’s Matthew.
If you don’t mind, would love to get your number, and talk you through some things.’
The end.”
I sent this because this dancer and I both share a mutual respect for a choreographer
that I was trying to help get a job on the show,” he said.
The actor went on to say that it was unfortunate that he had to defend himself and his family
against blatantly untrue statements that were anonymously made.
He also expressed his frustrations with gossip and how it is destroying our society.
Morrison ended the video by saying that he doesn’t want to be a distraction from the
show as dance is a unifying and healing modality.
The show should be about joy and positivity.
While Matthew seems to know his truth, it is prohibited for judges to reach out to contestants
while they are on a show due to a potential conflict of interest.
Whatever his motivations were, Matthew should have known this basic rule.
It didn’t take long for his wife to jump to his defense as she shared her husband’s
video to her Instagram.
“My husband has finally been given an opportunity to speak his truth.
He has done so with such grace and integrity in a situation that is complex.
Honestly couldn't care less about the gossip.
It’s all made up.
We know our truth and that’s all that matters.
Stop perpetuating hate and shame.
Period.
NO ONE DESERVES IT,” she said.
Well, we hope these are just rumors and this sweet couple can continue their lives without
the chaos and nastiness.
Matthew and Renee show that no obstacle is greater than their love.
Let us know if you think the Glee curse is real in the comments below.
Don’t forget to subscribe to Rumour Juice for potential updates on the story and for
more Hollywood scandals and sweet romances.