Jeremy Renner Opens Up About Divorce and Sexual Preference Rumors
"I haven't slept more than four hours a night in the past week," he said.
— -- Jeremy Renner is usually very quiet about his personal life, but did respond to rumors about his sexual preference and open up about his painful divorce in a recent interview with Playboy magazine.
"I'm not going to try to prove what I am or am not," the "Avengers" star said. "It's silly, right? When you Google yourself and the first thing that comes up is 'Jeremy Renner gay,' it's like, 'Oh, now you've arrived. You're now a giant star.'"
He continued about the rumors, "I don't care, ultimately, if that's what people want to think, read and care about. F----- say whatever the hell you want about me. Look at where we're at socially — leaps and bounds ahead of where we started. That's an amazing thing. To suggest that it's negative, that being gay is a terrible thing, a perversion or whatever — I just don't get it."
When the conversation turned to family, Renner talked about the home he's in now and his plans for his beloved daughter Ava, 2.
"This will be my daughter's place in the future," he said. "I own it now, but Ava owns me. When she drew her first breath and with that palmar reflex grabbed my finger, the thought came to me, if all goes well, this same scenario will happen when I take my last breath."
With his daughter and his love for her in mind, Renner also opened up about the struggles of his ongoing divorce from ex Sonni Pacheco. The two announced they were married late last year, but the two split months later. Divorce proceedings began earlier this year.
"I haven't slept more than four hours a night in the past week," he revealed. "My skin’s breaking out. I’ve got dark circles under my eyes. I’m dehydrated. I look like s---. I felt pretty insecure walking into a photo shoot this morning, and I was running late because I had just gotten out of my fourth deposition for the divorce."
Renner's comments quickly focused back on his daughter.
"I see anything that takes me away from my daughter, whether it’s something good like making 'Mission: Impossible 5' or something bad like my divorce, as a distraction and an obstacle," he said. "Now, if anything takes me away and I don’t get to see her, I just won’t do it. I don’t care what you pay me ... [Sonni and I] split the time with Ava equally now. When it’s Daddy and Ava time, that’s all I do."
The Oscar-nominated actor's parents also split when he was just in third grade and his situation contributed to the man he is today.
"They didn’t have a lot of money, and after the divorce, we moved around a lot. Up until junior high, I thought a new grade meant a new school for everybody," he said, adding that may be what spawned his "shyness."
The 44-year-old actor's parents were supportive when he went into acting and initially lived with very meager means, but "found out later that my parents were freaking out."
The California native then hit it big with "S.W.A.T." in 2003 and "my movie career really took off." He was later nominated for an Academy Awards for Best Actor after his performance in 2008's "The Hurt Locker." Then came starring roles in the "Mission Impossible" franchise, "The Bourne Legacy" and, of course, "The Avengers."