By Shreya Mali
Why does Jeremey Renner prefer to keep his age gap relationships private? My feature with The List reveals why this actor remains secretive about his love life after his divorce.
We didn’t hear about the troubling aspects of Jeremy Renner’s marriage to Sonni Pacheco until their contentious legal battle in 2019. While their relationship wasn’t one of Hollywood’s shortest, it was still brief—Pacheco filed for divorce just ten months after their December 2014 wedding. Though the divorce was finalized by 2016, sparing them a lengthy legal split, the conflict continued as they fought for custody of their young daughter, Ava.
TMZ reported in 2019 that Sonni Pacheco sought sole custody of her and Jeremy Renner’s daughter, citing concerns over his alleged substance use and its potential risk to their child. Amid the custody battle, Renner was rumored to be romantically linked to actress Eiza Gonzalez. An insider told Us Weekly that the two appeared flirty at a Super Bowl afterparty in February 2020, though another source claimed they were simply mingling with friends.
Renner was later linked to another younger woman. In January 2024, Jason Nelms told the Daily Mail that his sister, Amber Monson—about 18 years Renner’s junior—began dating the actor after meeting him at a club in 2023. However, their relationship reportedly ended after a tense family gathering tied to his Christmas album.
Journalist Shreya Mail writes, “To get a sense of what it all means, The List tapped into the expertise of Susan Winter, NYC relationship expert and creator of the “Love À La Carte Method,” for her take on Renner’s busy, post-divorce love life.
Jeremy Renner was supposedly rude to his then-girlfriend’s family
According to Jason Nelms’ interview with the Daily Mail, Jeremy Renner lost his temper when Amber Monson’s family struggled to find his remote Nevada home. Nelms claimed Renner insulted them over the phone, reportedly snapping, “What are you guys, f**king idiots?” He also refused their request to meet them in the driveway, saying he was too busy relaxing.
Mali continues,”However, in an exclusive chat with The List, Susan Winter, NYC relationship expert and creator of the “Love À La Carte Method,” pointed out that the potential media backlash from their significant age gap could have also motivated him to keep things more private.
“The older partner is often portrayed as taking advantage of the younger’s naivety by controlling the relationship and utilizing this power imbalance to their benefit,” she explained. “The younger partner is routinely cast as an opportunist, gold digger, or gigolo — someone in it for the perks, not the person.” The relationship expert also professed that the Marvel star may want to keep his love life under wraps to protect his daughter’s well-being since she already endured her parents’ contentious, and very public, divorce. Winter even described Ava as “the real love of his life.””
