Update 7/6/21:
Ahead of her starring role opposite Scarlett Johansson in Black Widow, Florence Pugh shared with The Sunday Times her sentiments regarding the ongoing online criticism surrounding the age gap with her now two-year boyfriend, Zach Braff. In the interview published Sunday, Pugh recounted the immediate influx of hate comments she received over a post on Instagram that featured Braff in commemoration of his 46th birthday.
“It’s so weird to me to go on to someone’s page and shit on it,” Pugh shared. “That’s so not my nature—to go and bully for the sake of bullying. It’s such an odd thing that we’ve become OK with in the past ten years of social media.”
She added, “I think it bugs people that it's not who they expected. But it's my life and I'm not doing anything to please people or to make it a better headline or story. I want to also be a person!”
Update 7/10/20:
Florence Pugh is opening up about why she prefers to date a man 21 years her senior. Her reasoning? It just works.
According to E! News, during an appearance on the Sue Perkins: An Hour or So With… podcast, the Little Women star continued her streak of defending her relationship with actor Zach Braff.
"I've always found it funny, how I can be good enough for people to watch my work, and support my work, 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," Pugh shared. "Once again, [it's] making a young woman feel like s--t for no reason. I think I did feel s--t for awhile about admitting that, and then I thought, 'How ridiculous is that?'"
She continued, "I'm 24 and I can't choose who I love … 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?"
Update 5/7/20:
In a new interview with ELLE UK, Florence Pugh continued to address the criticism surrounding her relationship with actor Zach Braff.
"I have the right to hang out and be with and go out with anyone I want to," Pugh said. "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."
Pugh acknowledged that her career as an actress indeed allots a portion of her life to be exposed to the public, but she said she doesn't believe that should pertain to who she chooses to date.
"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," declared Pugh. "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. … My point to all this is that isn't it odd that a stranger can totally tear apart someone’s relationship and it’s allowed?"
Update 4/9/20:
Florence Pugh isn't here for social media trolls attacking her relationship.
The Little Women star took to Instagram on Wednesday to defend her relationship with actor Zach Braff, per People. Their low-key coupling is often the subject of criticism since Pugh is 24 and Braff is 45. The actress explained in an almost four-minute-long clip why she decided to turn off the comments on her recent birthday post for her beau.
"On Monday, I posted a photo in honor of Zach's birthday and I wrote a birthday message underneath. Within about eight minutes of the photo being posted, I had about 70 percent of the comments hurling abuse and being horrid—basically bullying someone on my page," Pugh said. "It is the first time in my entire Instagram life that I've had to turn off the 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."
The actress continued, stating that during a period when the world is battling an ongoing health crisis is not the time to nitpick at who she chooses to date.
"It makes me upset that during this time when we need to be together, the world is aching and the world is dying, and a few of you decided to bully for no reason," explained Pugh.
Pugh then declared that as much as she loves her fans, she doesn't need them commenting and sharing their opinions on her personal life.
"I am 24 years old. I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love, and I would never in my life tell anyone who they can and cannot love. It is not your place," said the actress. "The abuse that you throw at him is abuse that you are throwing at me, and I don't want those followers. I do not want to have to be protecting my comments every time I post a picture of him. I really hope that I can continue this relationship with a lot of you."
Original Story 12/29/19:
Actress Florence Pugh, 23, is reportedly dating actor and director Zach Braff, 44.
While the couple remains pretty private about their romance, Braff decided to comment on a recent photo of Pugh posted on Instagram. The actor commented on the pic with an adorable princess emoji, which was apparently enough to rile up some fans of the Little Women actress.
According to ELLE UK, one Instagram user responded to Braff's emoji by saying, "You’re 44 years old," while another said, "He looks like your grandfather." Brutal.
It seems that not everyone is a fan of the couple's 21-year age gap, but Pugh has zero chill for anyone criticizing her romance. She masterfully replied to one of the trolls and said, "and yet he got it."
Although they didn't pose together, Braff walked the red carpet for the Little Women premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in New York on December 7, 2019.
ANGELA WEISS//Getty Images
According to Collider, Braff is set to direct his girlfriend in the movie The Secret Ingredients of Rocket Cola. Per the publication, "The film, which takes places over decades, follows twin brothers with opposite personalities who are separated at a young age and go on to live drastically different lives. Eventually, they reunite in an effort to save the company Rocket Cola despite their love of the same woman."
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Open Gallery
Amy Mackelden is a freelance writer, editor, and disability activist. Her bylines include Harper's BAZAAR, Nicki Swift, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, ELLE, The Independent, Bustle, Healthline, and HelloGiggles. She co-edited The Emma Press Anthology of Illness, and previously spent all of her money on Kylie Cosmetics.
Bianca Betancourt is the culture editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where she covers all things film, TV, music, and more. When she's not writing, she loves impulsively baking a batch of cookies, re-listening to the same early-2000s pop playlist, and stalking Mariah Carey's Twitter feed.
Sabrina Park is a Digital Fellow at HarpersBAZAAR.com where she covers news, fashion, and culture stories. When she’s not writing she loves hanging out with her cat, reading outdoors and scrolling the depths of TikTok.
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