Former Glee star Matthew Morrison took the Troubadour Stage last week as the title character in NBC’s Dr. Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas Musical. His wife of six years, musician and model Renee Puente, cheered him on from home.
The couple first met at a Grammys party in 2011. When Morrison was getting ready to leave, he overheard her talking in pidgin, a Hawaiian slang, and was instantly interested. “I sang backup for a guy named Don Ho in high school, and spent summers in Hawaii,” Morrison told The New York Post. “So when I heard her speak, I said, ‘Howzit, sistah?’ and she laughed. The rest is history.” Puente was born in Hawaii.
“When he came up to me, I had no idea who he was,” Puente recalled about their first meeting to Martha Stewart. “I just started laughing because it was so adorable to see this cute white boy talking pidgin.”
While Morrison was portraying teacher and glee club director Mr. Shue for six years on Glee, he was spotted getting close with Olivia Munn and Kelly Brook. Prior to starring in the hit TV series, Morrison has also been romantically linked to Kristen Bell, Chrishell Stause and former Glee and Broadway co-star Lea Michele.
“Honestly, she loves the fact that I went through all that – a lot of relationships, some one-night stands,” Morrison stated when responding that his wife didn’t mind the past romantic relationships he’s had. “I learned a lot about who I was and, more importantly, the person I wanted to be with. My wife came into my life as such a great time.”
Two years after meeting Morrison proposed to Puente while horseback riding Maui. He gave her a sapphire and diamond ring. The couple’s friends, Elton John and David Furnish, announced Morrison and Puente’s engagement at the 2013 White Tie and Tiara Ball where they serenaded the couple with a rendition of “Your Song.” The following year the couple got married in front of 50 friends and family on a private estate in Maui.
They couple became parents in October 2017 when they welcomed their only child, Revel James Makai, into the world.
