Florence Pugh and Zach Braff's romance was ambushed by criticism from the moment they
were together.
While their twenty-one-year age gap might have been problematic for some, the couple
were clearly happy and in love.
We're going to take a look back at how their romance blossomed, how they fought off the
haters, and why things between the pair, unfortunately, didn't work out.
We're not entirely sure how they first met; we know that Zach and Florence were first
linked back in August 2018.
Braff expressed his admiration for Pugh's role in the film 'Lady McBeth' on Twitter,
writing, "I watched an incredible film last night that I cannot stop thinking about … It's
very upsetting, so be forewarned.
Florence is a movie star."
Zach also started liking Florence's pictures on Instagram around that same time, so it's
possible that they connected via social media and their relationship blossomed from there.
The pair weren't linked again until January of the following year when fans suspected
that they had traveled to England together.
Zach shared a picture of his adventures around Oxford, captioning, "Spent the day in Oxford
and now I am smart."
and just a few weeks later, the actress posted a picture of herself with her dad.
Considering that England is Florence's hometown, it was easy to assume that they had taken
the trip together, and perhaps Zach even got to meet her family.
In April 2019, Braff directed Pugh in the film 'In the Time It Takes to Get There’,
and later that month, the pair were spotted holding hands while out for a walk in New
York City.
While neither of them had confirmed their relationship to the public, the hand-holding
made things pretty clear to everyone.
A couple of months later, Braff hinted at his romance with Pugh on Instagram, captioning
a photo of her and his friends, "People I love."
And later shared more pictures of an outing they took together to Disneyland.
While the new couple did their best to avoid any media attention around their relationship,
things got a little trickier when people started making negative comments about their significant
twenty-one-year age gap.
At the time they started dating, Florence was around twenty-three, while Zach was forty-four,
and some people couldn't help but share their disapproval over the couple's romance.
By December of 2019, Pugh finally confirmed her relationship with Braff after he left
a princess emoji in the comments section of one of her Instagram posts.
Someone left a comment that said, "You're 44 years old," directing it at Zach.
Florence clapped back at the comment by responding, "And yet he got it."
Unfortunately, this would not be the last time that the actress would have to stand
up for her relationship.
The following month, Pugh learned that she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress
at the 2020 Oscars for her performance in Little Women.
Florence celebrated the nomination during a press day in Los Angeles and, afterward,
toasted with Braff as well.
She was spotted running into Braff's arms after the event and sharing a kiss before
taking the celebrations elsewhere.
In April 2020, Florence celebrated Zach's forty-fifth birthday with a post on Instagram,
captioning, "Today we shall smile wider than the clouds are grey.
April 6th and we're celebrating hard!
Happy Birthday wishes, boogies and cheers for this special person.
Raise those bubbles and jiggle!"
Unfortunately, the couple was ambushed with backlash for their age gap yet again, so much
so that Florence decided to make a video firing back at those who were sharing their unwanted
opinions.
The actress called out the "abuse" and "bullying" over their age difference in the comments
of her post, saying, "I have been working since I was 17, I've been earning money since
I was 17.
I became an adult when I was 18.
… I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love.
And I would never in my life, ever, tell anyone who they can and cannot love."
She continued: "It is not your place and really it has nothing to do with you.
If those rules are something you do not like, please unfollow me.
The abuse you throw at him is the abuse you throw at me, and I do not want those followers."
Florence's video defending her relationship went wild, and it was clear that she wasn't
going to tolerate anyone who was going to share any negativity about her love for Zach.
On a lighter note, that same month, the couple announced that they had adopted a dog they
named "Billie," whom they had initially been fostering, but decided to make her part of
their little family after falling completely in love with her.
During the international pandemic, Florence shared some insight into how she and Braff
were spending their time in quarantine.
She shared, "I allow one takeaway a week.
So that's our special date night.
She also revealed they were "growing lovely leaves and lovely elephant garlic" in their
garden to cook with.
After her social media response to the couple's relationship critics, Pugh expressed that
she was overhearing people's "hate and opinions" when it came to her personal life.
In an interview, the actress said that she had "the right to hang out and be with and
go out with anyone" she wanted to, regardless of the public's thoughts.
Florence added, "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."
She explained that the "strange part of fame" was how she felt "torn apart" by thousands
of people, despite the fact that she wasn't sharing that part of her life with them, and
they didn't know her.
After speaking out about her relationship on numerous occasions, Pugh got candid about
how the criticism was affecting her.
She explained that after posting her Instagram video response, where she revealed that the
comments about her and Braff upset her, she felt "shit for a while" for admitting that
the online bullies had gotten to her.
The actress also said, "There's a reason why I'm not with someone my age — it hasn't
worked."
She added, "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, once again, it's making a young woman feel like shit for no reason."
While Florence was the one who stood up and confronted those with negative opinions about
her relationship, Zach remained silent.
However, during a candid interview, Braff was asked about Pugh's decision to post a
video defending their romance, and he explained why he chose not to speak out himself.
He shared, "She literally sat down, hit record on her phone and said that.
I thought: how could I possibly follow anything as intelligent and articulate as that?
So, I chose not to,"
By January the following year, Braff celebrated Pugh on her 25th birthday with a sweet post
on Instagram, captioning, "Happy Birthday to the most fun person I've ever met.
I would have felt blessed to have smiled with you 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."
Unfortunately, the criticism over their relationship continued, but the couple made sure not to
let it bother them.
Over the next few months, they continued to share little snippets on social media about
their life as a couple and their adoration for one another.
During an interview, the actress spoke about the backlash she's had to face over her relationship,
sharing, "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."
In July 2021, Zach praised Pugh's role in Black Widow by giving her a special painting
of her character, Yelena Belova, from the "legendary painter" and comic book artist
Phil Noto.
Later that month, Florence was able to return the praise following Zach's nomination for
directing an episode of Ted Lasso.
At the beginning of 2022, Zach gushed over Florence in a post dedicated to her twenty-sixth
birthday, sharing, "I am so lucky to know you.
And the world is so lucky they get to witness your incredible talent."
A few months later, Braff shared his thoughts about Pugh's acting career while talking about
her role in A Good Person during an interview.
He said, "Florence Pugh's performance in the movie, I know I'm biased, but it's the most
miraculous thing you will ever see.
I'm not overselling it … I know that anything Florence does is incredible."
A few months later, Florence had to take to social media once again; this time, however,
it was to shut down rumors that she was dating her former co-star from Midsommar, Will Poulter.
The pair had been photographed on a beach together in Ibiza, which immediately propelled
potential romance buzz with Will and an alleged break-up with Zach.
The actress explained, "This is getting a little silly now.
No, Will Poulter and I are not dating.
We went to the beach with our friends, who are always about half a meter away from us
in every picture, but have been cleverly cut out/framed out so that it looks otherwise."
Florence also called out her followers for their negative comments about Braff amid the
dating rumors with Will.
"There's literally no need to be horrible online.
No need.
Think about what you write.
Think about who it affects."
Despite Florence's comments, the rumors of a breakup between her and Zach didn't die
down.
By August of 2022, after months of speculation, Pugh confessed during an exclusive interview
with Harper's Bazaar that she and Braff recently called it quits.
She shared, "We've been trying to do this separation without the world knowing, because
it's been a relationship that everybody has an opinion on.
We just felt something like this would really do us the benefit of not having millions of
people telling us how happy they are that we're not together … I automatically get
a lumpy throat when I talk about it."
Florence and Zach had faced criticism over their relationship from the very beginning,
no matter how many times she had told people to keep their opinions to themselves.
While the actress hasn't shared the reason for their split, it's possible that the public's
negative opinion took its toll on the couple, and they could no longer ignore it.
It's always sad when a romance comes to an end, and we only hope that Florence and Zach
are able to heal their hearts and find happiness.
If there's anything that this relationship can teach us, it's that it's always better
to be kind and supportive of people's choices on who they choose to be with.
Love is love, and as long as they're happy, nothing else should matter.