Back in 2019, Florence Pugh was still a newbie in Hollywood with a promising career, so of course her love life was of interest to tabloids. She famously began dating Zach Braff when he was 45 and she was 24, and the age gap led to scrutiny from fans online. The relationship lasted roughly three years before they called it quits, and the experience has affected how Pugh now approaches relationships.
In a new interview with British Vogue, Pugh explained why she would try to defend her relationship with Braff, who is 21 years her senior. “Mine and Zach’s relationship was actually quite private until it was nasty, and I could see the toll that it was taking on him and us and our families. And that’s when I spoke out,” Pugh said, referring to how she came to Braff’s defense online.
She continued, “I think for anyone I’m with, I want to protect them. It’s not nice knowing that people are saying the worst things I’ve ever read about someone that I love. So that was necessary. I needed to talk about it. I think any relationship in this limelight is going to be stressed.” And after she was spotted with Will Poulter in 2022, she promptly shot down rumors there, too.
Now, Pugh doesn’t want to put a spotlight on her relationships. She confirms that she is dating someone new, and while she has been spotted with Peaky Blinders actor Finn Cole, she did not reveal who her new partner is. “We are figuring what we actually are,” she revealed. “And I think for the first time, I’m not allowing myself to go on a roller-coaster. I’m allowing myself to take time to let something evolve and let it be completely real to its core, as opposed to racing into that.”
Pugh soon stars in a different dramatic (but fictional) love story alongside Andrew Garfield and a weird looking horse in We Live In Time. The movie will get a limited U.S. release on October 11th.