Florence Pugh and Zach Braff are believed to have been dating for almost two years after the actor starred in a short movie directed by the Scrubs star.
While the couple have largely kept their relationship out of the public eye choosing not to appear on red carpets together even when Pugh was nominated for an Oscar for Little Women, they have found themselves unwillingly thrust into the spotlight on several occasions when they have spoken up to defend their age gap and deride ‘abusive’ and hurtful comments on social media.
When they don’t have to branch into that negativity it seems the couple live a quiet life in Los Angeles, having ‘locked down’ together during the Covid-19 pandemic and adopting a dog. Pugh has evidently been supporting her partner throughout the past year too following the death of his close friend Nick Cordero, due to the Coronavirus.
To kick off 2021, Braff paid tribute to his girlfriend, calling her the ‘most fun person I’ve ever met’. Read more about that, and their other key relationship moments below…
04/01/21: Zach Braff Posts Heartfelt Birthday Post To Florence Pugh
To celebrate the Midsommar star’s 25th birthday, Braff shared a series of photographs of his partner to Instagram, along with an effusive message. In the collage, Braff shared a rare selfie of the couple together on a plane and another of the couple arm in arm on a hike.
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Calling Pugh ‘the most fun person I’ve ever met’, Braff wished the British actor a happy birthday, writing: ‘I would have felt blessed to have smiled with your for one night. I can’t believe I get to giggle with you everyday. What a pleasure it is to know you. What a gift to the world it was that you were born.’
The actor then shared a further three photos of Pugh on his Instagram Stories, without comment, including one of the couple cuddling on the sofa:
09/11/20: Zach Braff Praises Florence Pugh’s Handling Of Age Gap Criticism
Zach Braff has explained why he hasn’t weighed into his girlfriend Florence Pugh’s defence of their 21-year age gap.
In April, the 24-year-old actress spoke out against hateful comments she’d received on social media in response to her romance with the actor.
‘It is the first time in my entire Instagram life that I’ve had to turn off the comments on my page,’ she said in a video addressing the ‘bullying’, adding, ‘I have only been an Instagram that tries to bring some light and tries to be positive and tries to make people smile.’
‘The world is aching, and the world is dying, and a few of you decided to bully for no reason.… I’m 24 years old. I do not need you to tell me who I should or should not love…. It is not your place, and really, it has nothing to do with you.’
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In a newly-released interview with MR PORTER, Braff opened up about the video.
‘She literally sat down, hit record on her phone and said that,’ he said of Pugh’s clip. ‘I thought: how could I possibly follow anything as intelligent and articulate as that? So, I chose not to.’
In April, the Little Women star was forced to take to her Instagram page after receiving ‘abuse’ and ‘bullying’ comments surrounding her relationship, in particular the couple’s 21 year age gap. The negative comments came after Pugh had shared a birthday tribute in honour of her partner to mark his 45th trip around the sun.
Speaking about this decision to address her followers and fans in a conversation with Sue Perkins on her podcast ‘An Hour Or So With’, Pugh said: ‘I’ve always found it funny how I can be good enough for people to watch my work, support it and pay for tickets and I’m old enough to be an adult and pay taxes but I’m not old enough to know who I should and should not have sex with. Yet again, it’s making a young woman feel like sh*t for no reason.’
‘I did feel sh*t for a while for admitting that and then I thought, how ridiculous. I’m 24 and I can’t chose who I love.’
Pugh and Perkins then discussed how the trolls don’t know Pugh well enough to discuss who she should actually then be with.
‘Are they closer to me in age?’ Pugh questioned sarcastically. ‘… There’s a reason why I’m not with someone my age. It hasn’t worked. So who are you trying to match me up with?’
07/05/20: Florence Pugh Discusses Public Scrutiny Of Her Relationship
Gracing ELLE’s June cover, Pugh spoke about her continued disbelief that people think they have the right to comment on her relationship just because she is in the public eye.
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‘I’ve always found this part of what people do really bizarre. I’m an actor because I like acting and I don’t mind people watching my stuff, but people have no right to educate me on my private life.
‘I know that part of being in the spotlight is that people might invade your privacy and have opinions on it, but it’s bizarre that normal folk are allowed to display such hate and opinions on a part of my life that I’m not putting out there. It’s a strange side of fame that you’re allowed to be torn apart by thousands of people even though you didn’t put that piece of you out there.’
9/4/20: Florence Pugh Delivers Video Message To Instagram Followers Over Age Gap Criticism
After wishing her boyfriend Braff a happy 45th birthday on Instagram, Pugh took to her account via video message hitting back at ‘cyberbullies’ who left ‘abusive’ messages on her page following her post.
While simultaneously confirming her relationship with Braff publicly for the first time, Pugh said: ‘I’ll underline this fact. I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love and I would never in my life who they can and cannot love. It is not your place and really it has nothing to do with you.’
You can read her comments in full here.
29/12/19: Florence Pugh Appears To Confirm Relationship With Zach Braff While Defending Their Age Gap
After Braff commented on a photograph of Pugh, the Little Women star responded to a fan criticising their age gap with a witty response that soon went viral.
April, 2019: Florence Pugh And Zach Braff Spotted Holding Hands
The former co-stars were photographed by the paparazzi holding hands while out and about in New York City triggering the Hollywood dating rumour mill. Following this, neither actor confirmed their relationship for a while.
2019: Florence Pugh And Zach Braff Work Together
The actors worked together on Braff’s 2019 short, The Time It Takes To Get There. Directing the film, the Scrubs star shared a BTS photo of Pugh in a costume fitting for the film on Instagram in April, 2019.
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