Hanging on his partner’s every word and leaning in for kisses as they enjoyed lunch together, Keanu Reeves looked more like a smitten teenager than a man of 60 as he was spotted on a cosy date in London this week with his artist girlfriend.
Despite making their red carpet debut as a couple in 2019, they are still clearly in the honeymoon stage of their romance, as beaming Reeves, who sweetly refers to Grant as ‘My honey’, leaned in close to hold hands as they enjoyed an intimate conversation.
While a large number of Hollywood men would not see entering their seventh decade as any kind of barrier to finding a much younger partner, the Matrix star has bucked the trend with Alexandra Grant, 51, and could not be happier with his choice.
While there should be nothing at all unusual in finding a partner of a similar age who is accomplished in her own field, it’s so vanishingly rare when it comes to famous men as they age that Keanu looks positively revolutionary.
And this happiness will no doubt delight fans who were once so concerned about his forlorn expression that they turned him into a ‘sad Keanu Reeves’ meme, and dubbed him ‘the internet’s boyfriend’ while worrying over his perennially single state after the tragic deaths of his baby daughter and partner Jennifer Syme more than 20 years ago.
Now, it seems the actor can’t stop smiling and a clue as to why may lie in the large diamond spotted on Alexandra’s ring finger during the lunch date. It’s been joined by a gold band, which could well be a wedding ring and did not appear to be present on her most recent red carpet outings this year.
The Matrix star and stunning artist showed that they only had eyes for each other while dining alfresco at swanky London restaurant Scott’s where they gazed adoringly at one another before sharing a romantic kiss
If the couple have indeed secretly tied the knot, it would be Keanu’s first marriage, but any grand announcement is unlikely with the fiercely private pair known for keeping their relationship under wraps.
They first met through mutual friends at a dinner party in 2009 and the actor turned author contributed poetry to two of Alexandra’s books, Ode to Happiness in 2011 and Shadows in 2016, before they co-founded small publishing imprint X Artists’ Books in 2017, which led to a romance blossoming.
When the couple made their red carpet debut together in 2019, Alexandra found herself in the middle of a media frenzy.
‘I think every single person I knew called me in the first week of November, and that’s fascinating,’ she told British Vogue a few months later.
Fans were delighted the intensely private John Wick star had found love again after apparently remaining single for years following the death of his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Syme in a 2001 car crash, shortly after the couple’s daughter was stillborn.
However the unfortunate flip side of this refreshingly ‘normal’ pairing was criticism from trolls who claimed Alexandra was ‘too old’ for the actor, despite him being nine years her senior.
A gold band was visible on Alexandra’s ring finger alongside her rumoured engagement ring
Alexandra exhibits in prestigious spaces across the globe, including Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Galerie Gradiva in Paris and The Harris Lieberman Gallery in New York
However no sign of tying the knot has not hindered their romance one bit and when asked about his ‘last moment of bliss,’ Keanu told People in 2023: ‘A couple of days ago with my honey (pictured 2023)
Addressing commentary surrounding her looks, she said: ‘I’m a 6ft 1in woman with white hair, you know, the idea of fitting in… If I wanted to look like Kim Kardashian, I would have to have surgery removing about a foot off my legs.’
Based in Los Angeles, Ohio-born Grant is an artist and philanthropist who has exhibited around the world after graduating from Swarthmore College in 1994 with a BA in history and studio art.
She is known for her use of language and exchanges with writers as a source for imagery in her sculpture, painting, drawing, and video works, hence her collaboration with Keanu, who alongside his box office hits has dabbled in poetry.
Grant fostered her love for the spoken word as a child, after growing up around the world, living in Mexico, Spain and France.
The artist has gone on to exhibit in prestigious spaces across the globe, including Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Galerie Gradiva in Paris and The Harris Lieberman Gallery in New York.
She used her artistic talent to found the philanthropic grantLOVE project in 2008 which produces and sells original artworks and editions to benefit artist projects and arts non-profits.
There was no sign of a wedding ring on her finger when Grant attended the Sonic the Hedgehog 3′ film premiere in LA at the end of 2024
They first met through mutual friends at a dinner party in 2009 and the actor turned author contributed poetry to two of Alexandra’s books, Ode to Happiness in 2011 and Shadows in 2016 (pictured on a book tour in 2017)
Their first book was a success, sparking the poet-artist duo to create their second book together, Shadows, in 2016, with Grant photographing Reeves while he was filming John Wick.
Speaking about working on their second book, she told W Magazine: ‘We can spend a lot of time debating. Like, ‘A raspberry hue? And should it be darker?’ We can get obsessive.’
Shadows is compiled of dark silhouette images of Reeves taken by Grant and poetry written by the actor.
She told the LA Times of their collaboration: ‘No one can move the way he can. He’s a really extreme performer.
Keanu has said their shared interests are integral to their relationship, with them both enjoying a love of art and motorcycles, telling E! News the secret to their success was: ‘Sharing, communicating, you know, supporting’
She said ‘I’m a 6ft 1in woman with white hair, you know, the idea of fitting in… If I wanted to look like Kim Kardashian, I would have to have surgery removing about a foot off my legs’
Based in Los Angeles, Grant is an artist and philanthropist who has exhibited around the world, the Ohio-born beauty has been working in the arts since graduating from Swarthmore College in 1994 with a BA in history and studio art
Keanu’s partner Jennifer Syme died in 2001 after the couple’s daughter was stillborn
‘That’s a huge piece of why those images are so interesting. I knew that if I moved the camera as we danced together, as photographer and subject, we could create these wonderful optical illusions.’
The journalist for the piece noted that ‘in conversation, the two friends share an easy rapport and speak in a comfortable shorthand fuelled by inside jokes and knowing smiles.’
Building on their success with their two books, the pair founded publishing company X Artists’ Books in 2017, with a focus on ‘unusual collaborations’ and books that ‘don’t really have a place because they’re between genres’.
Reeves has always keep his personal life very private but that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill from churning with links to A-list actresses.
The movie star has had previous dalliances with Amanda De Cadenet and Claire Forlani but it’s not known how serious he was with them.
There’s also been the long-standing rumour that he secretly dated his Speed co-star Sandra Bullock in the nineties after their sizzling onscreen chemistry scored a box office hit.
The actors have both admitted they had a crush on one another during filming for the 1994 movie, but have insisted they have never dated.
In the 80s Keanu dated Jill Schoelen for three years after meeting on the set of the 1986 film Babes in Toyland,
Keanu was also spotted out and about with director Sofia Coppola in the early nineties, after they fell for each other on the set of Bram Stoker’s Dracula which Sofia’s father Francis Ford Coppola directed.
Reeves’s most significant relationship was with actress Jennifer Syme. They began dating in 1998 and, in 1999, Syme became pregnant with their daughter, Ava.
Ava was tragically stillborn at eight months. In 2001, Syme drove her 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee into a row of parked cars in Los Angeles; she died instantly. She was only 28-years-old at the time.