Ant Anstead Has 'Emotional Reunion' with Kids in the U.K. After Nearly a Year Apart Due to COVID

Ant Anstead/Instagram Ant Anstead with son Archie and daughter Amelie

After being separated for nearly a year due to COVID travel restrictions, Ant Anstead has reunited with his two kids in the U.K.

Earlier this week, the Wheeler Dealers star, 42, shared a sweet selfie with his two oldest kids — daughter Amelie 17, and son Archie, 14, whom he shares with his first wife, Louise — telling his Instagram followers how happy he is to be back with them after so much time apart.

"I switched off and went off-grid for a while as I managed to get into the UK last week!" wrote the car expert, who also shares 1-year-old son Hudson London with his second wife, Christina Haack, from whom he split in September.

"After some time spent in quarantine…. FREEDOM!!" he wrote. "I've been hanging with my kiddos after what has felt like an eternity! Despite the use of technology to get us through, it was an emotional reunion!"

Ant Anstead/Instagram

The last time the father of three saw his kids was in late summer 2020, as his plans to go visit them over the Christmas holidays were canceled due to border restrictions between the U.S. and the U.K. These restrictions continued to make it tricky for the trio to reunite, and, instead, they've been doing daily video calls to stay connected, Anstead has shared.

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"In a year of setbacks, it's important to count one's blessings!" Anstead concluded the post. "And I am one very blessed chap!"

In late June, PEOPLE confirmed that Anstead is dating Oscar-winning actress Renee Zellweger, after they met on the set of his new show Celebrity IOU: Joyride. His divorce from Haack, whom he wed in December 2018, was finalized in June.

Kevin Mazur/Getty; Can Nguyen/Shutterstock Reneé Zellweger; Ant Anstead

In a December 2020 interview with PEOPLE, Ant said that the divorce put him in "a very dark place," but that leaning on Amelie and Archie had been helping him get through it.

"They are genuinely my best friends," he said of the teens, adding that the split "was devastating for them."

RELATED VIDEO: Ant Anstead Says He 'Walked Away Completely' from Family Home With Christina Haack After Split

"It was a very, very difficult FaceTime call," he said of breaking the news. "They loved Christina — they still do — and they really wanted us to work. I think every child just wants to see their parents happy."

In early June, Anstead shared exclusively with PEOPLE that he had purchased a home for himself and his kids in Laguna Beach, California, calling it "the house of my dreams." He found the property after months of searching for a place with a view of the ocean that would work for his new life as a single dad.

Courtesy of Ant Anstead

After moving in, he began making plans with an architect to put his own touches on the home and making sure bedrooms were set up for Archie, Amelie and Hudson, whom he shares custody of with their mothers.

"Had it not been for COVID, they would've spent half the time here," he said at the time of his older kids.