Florence Pugh has opened up about her past relationship with Zach Braff and the public scrutiny surrounding their 21-year age gap.
Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast, the British actress recalled feeling “hurt” by the wave of negative comments she faced during her relationship with the Scrubs star.
Florence and the 50-year-old actor dated for three years between 2019 and 2022. Throughout their relationship, she publicly defended him several times against criticism of their age difference.
Florence Pugh reflected on the 21-year age difference between her and her ex, Zach Braff
Image credits: florencepugh
“It was an insane amount of ab*se being hurled at my relationship just because there was an age gap,” she told Louis Theroux.
“I stood up for it, and I stood up for him and I stood up for me just being allowed to do whatever the f*** I wanted to do, and that kind of did actually change a few people’s minds.”
Florence added that defending the people she cares about is part of who she is, even if it means going against what’s considered the norm.
“I’ll always make sure that if there needs to be a reset and there needs to be a bit of a smack on the wrist, I will do that because it’s not fair that so much of your life gets to have jabs,” she said.
In 2020, Florence turned off the Instagram comments on a post celebrating Zach’s 45th birthday after receiving what she described as “toxic” remarks about their age gap, which left her feeling “sad” and “upset.”
Florence said she was “hurt” by the intense public criticism of their age difference
She later addressed her critics in a video, telling them, “I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love.”
In December 2019, Zach left a crown emoji beneath one of Florence’s Instagram posts, prompting one person to comment, “You’re 44 years old.”
Florence defended her partner, replying simply, “And yet he got it👌🏽”
The Oscar nominee, who made her acting debut in The Falling over a decade ago, has learned that being in the spotlight means people will criticize her relationship if they don’t align with their expectations of who she should be dating.
“It doesn’t matter how much you speak on it or how little you speak on it, people don’t care,” Florence told Louis.
“They want a story; they want a reality show. It doesn’t really matter how much you say you love someone or how much they make you happy.
“If they don’t like them and it doesn’t fit that image that they want of you, they don’t care. And I think that hurt me.”
The Oppenheimer actress recently appeared on The Louis Theroux Podcast
Florence reflected on a past relationship that made her realize how harshly she had been treating herself.
“I had a breakdown,” she told Louis. “When you are not sleeping or you’re drinking too much or you’ve got the sh**s because you’re so anxious – that’s your body screaming at you.”
The Midsommar star shared that, during this challenging time, her body “was just like, in full panic mode” and was “asking for help.”
Florence and the Scrubs actor dated between 2019 and 2022
“When you are such a bubbly person and you fill in a lot of energy for other people, I’m definitely the last person that I look after.
“I felt like there was an expectation that I needed to be good for everybody else. My issues, my worries, my pains weren’t worthy of being spoken about because it would bring people down.
“Then of course you find yourself in a pit or in a mess.”
Florence previously defended Zach after turning off comments on her social media to protect him from criticism
In the 2019 horror film, Florence plays a woman who travels to Sweden and becomes entangled with a violent cult.
She revealed that the role had adverse effects on her and that she suffered from mental illness for months afterward.
“I’d ab*sed myself and really manipulated my own emotions to get a performance. I just can’t exhaust myself like that because it has a knock-on effect.”
Image credits: Louis Theroux
The Oppenheimer actress told the podcast host that she’s now in a “very good” relationship and focusing on her mental health. Though she didn’t mention any names, Florence is rumored to be dating Peaky Blinders star Finn Cole.
Fans showed support for the “authentic” and “dedicated” actress after her candid interview
