Keanu Reeves And Artist Alexandra Grant’s Romance Is More Than Just Unconventional

Born to a mother of British descent and a father of British, Chinese, Portuguese, and Native Hawaiian descent, Reeves has his mixed heritage to thank for his good genes. The actor is known for looking pretty much as hunky as he did when he first entered the big screens in the 80s, and many people are pointing that out right now, especially with his much shorter hair. Besides his ageless face, tall stature, kind heart, and good everything, actor Keanu Reeves, 57, is also known for his relatively recent relationship with the American visual artist Alexandra Grant.

While Keanu Reeves is known for being one of Hollywood’s most beloved, friendly, and down-to-earth actors, he has a dark past that is full of heartbreak. But Reeve’s tumultuous life—which includes losing his ex-girlfriend Jennifer Syme in a tragic car accident—seems to have taken a turn for the better. The actor has found love with Alexandra Grant, an LA-based contemporary artist. Grant opened up about her relationship with Keanu for the first time this March as part of a British Vogue feature.

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According to Grant’s interview with Vogue, the couple started working professionally together for the first time around 2011 when the two published the book Ode to Happiness, which includes Reeves’ poetry and Grants’ drawings. “The book was made as a surprise, by me, for Keanu, as a private gift,” Grant told the magazine. It was not originally meant to be published and be accessible to the public eye at all. However, as Grant explains during the Vogue interview, their friends encouraged the couple to go forward with the idea:

“All our friends sitting in the room got the giggles when I gave it to him—they said, ‘Please publish it!’ So that’s how we got into publishing.”

Although Reeves and Grant seem like a happy couple, things haven’t always been easy for Reeves in the past. Tragedy struck early on when Reeves’ father left the family when he was between the ages of three and five. And even though his father did remain in his life for the first couple years, Reeves completely lost contact when he turned 13. “On our last day we sat on the veranda and stared at the dark sky,” Reeves said in a 2002 interview, remembering back to that fateful day.

“He hardly said anything that evening. The next day he brought us to the airport. Then we didn’t hear anything from him for 10 years. No calls, no letters, nothing.”

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Fast forward a decade when a 23-year-old Reeves was acting in My Own Private Idaho with his best friend River Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix’s older brother. Tragedy struck again when River passed away in 1993 at the age of 23 and Reeves lost his best friend, as Snopes reports. Losing a close friend is sad and traumatic no matter how old you are, but it often hits especially hard when you’re young and not expecting death at all.

And finally, Reeves was stricken with the incredible hardship of losing a child and his girlfriend in 2000 after Reeves and his then-partner Jennifer Symes’ had a baby who was stillborn at eight months, according to Snopes. Shortly thereafter, torn apart by their traumatic experience, Symes left Reeves. The couple remained friends, however. But tragedy struck again as Symes passed away in a car accident 18 months later.

But out of all this tragedy, Reeves has nonetheless emerged as one of Hollywood’s most talented, generous, likable actors, and it seems that he’s finally found some happiness with Alexandra Grant. As one anonymous source who spoke with Life & Style put it:

“[Reeves] was in such a dark place for so long, but Alexandra’s positive outlook and support have played a huge part in helping him turn his life around. Some say she’s not only stolen his heart but she’s also saved him.”

While it seems like they’re a good match, not everyone seems to think that Reeves and Grants’ relationship makes total sense, especially since Grant isn’t exactly a typical Hollywood girlfriend, as she herself admits in her interview with Vogue. “I’m a 6ft 1in woman with white hair,” says Grant told the magazine. “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.” But regardless of what people think of Reeves’ romance with Grant, it’s nice to see the actor in a happy relationship. After everything he’s been through, he deserves it.