Florence Pugh Explains Why She Stopped Talking About Relationships After Ex Zach Braff

Florence Pugh still doesn’t regret defending her ex Zach Braff when online commenters criticized the former couple’s 21-year age gap.

Pugh, 29, opened up about her relationship with Braff, 50, during a Nov. 10 appearance on The Louis Théroux podcastwhere she explained how she handled the controversy surrounding the difference between their ages. When asked whether or not she talks about her romantic relationships in the press, Pugh said “not anymore.”

“With relationships and love in this world, no matter how much or little you talk about it, people don’t care. They want a story,” Pugh said. “They kind of want a reality show, and so it doesn’t matter how much you say you love someone or how happy they make you, if they don’t like them and it doesn’t fit the image they want of you, they don’t care.”

THE Don’t worry darling the actress dated Braff from 2019 to 2022, when Pugh confirmed Harper’s Bazaar that the couple had separated. After the couple went public, Pugh said there had been “an insane amount of abuse against my relationship just because there was an age gap,” and that she had had enough.

“I will always stand up for the people I love, I will always stand up for them,” she said. “If it takes a reset and a little slap on the wrist, I’ll do it because it’s not fair that so much of your life is spent on vaccines.”

Pugh responded to criticism in a 2020 Instagram video, calling out Instagram commenters for “bullying” Braff after she posted a photo to celebrate his birthday.

“About eight minutes after the photo was posted, about 70 percent of the comments were insulting and horrible — basically, bullying someone on my page,” Pugh said. “This is the first time in my entire Instagram life that I’ve had to disable comments on my page. I’ve never been an Instagram page that encourages that. I’ve never been an Instagram page that likes that toxic vibe.”

Speaking to Theroux, Pugh said she posted the video because she felt she needed to “check in” on her followers and remind them that she and Braff are real people.

“It got to the point where it was really horrible to see someone you’re with receive that, and it was never against me, it was only against him,” she said. “And I think I just needed to check on everyone, so I made a video and it got a lot of love and a lot of people supported me, which was awesome. I think people online need to remember that we’re real.”

Later that year, Braff recalled his reaction to Pugh’s video in an interview. “She literally sat down, pressed her phone and said this,” Braff said. Mr. Porter’s. “I asked myself, ‘How could I follow something as intelligent and articulate as that?’ So I chose not to.”

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Although Braff and Pugh quietly split in 2022, the couple remained friendly. In a joint 2023 interview with Vogue to promote their film A good personBraff effusively praised Pugh’s acting abilities.

“I just think she’s one of the greatest actresses of her generation,” the Garden State actor and director said. “She’s just magnetic. You can’t take your eyes off her.”