How Florence Pugh And Zach Braff Really Got Together

Florence Pugh and Zach Braff may have gone their separate ways, but their relationship is still a point of contention among fans. The key reason? Their 21-year age gap. To put that into perspective, Pugh was only in kindergarten when "Scrubs" joined the airwaves.

The "Don't Worry Darling" actor and "Garden State" director dated for about three years prior to their split and for most of it, they were relatively low-key. Aside from being spotted by the paparazzi and a handful of social media posts, they were rarely seen together, and not once did they appear on the red carpet as an item. In fact, when they called it quits, they made sure to remain quiet about it, too. "We've been trying to do this separation without the world knowing, because it's been a relationship that everybody has an opinion on," Pugh told Harper's Bazaar for the September 2022 cover story. "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. So we've done that. I automatically get a lumpy throat when I talk about it."

Pugh also shared that she was acutely aware that most people disapproved of their romance. "We weren't in anyone's faces. It was just that people didn't like it," she shared in her 2023 Vogue interview. There's no denying that the two were, at one point, incredibly smitten with each other. And apparently, it was thanks to their friends that they met.

Florence Pugh and Zach Braff were first introduced to each other through their mutual friends, per Vogue. They began interacting (albeit subtly) on social media in 2018, but it wasn't until Pugh starred in the Braff-directed short film "In the Time It Takes to Get There" that they started getting close. Us Weekly noted that in the same year, the two were photographed holding hands in New York City, and by the time Braff celebrated his 45th birthday, the former couple had made their relationship Instagram official.

Perhaps part of the reason why Braff found himself attracted to Pugh was her impeccable acting talent. "I quite simply think she's one of the greatest actors of her generation," he mused. "She's just magnetic. You cannot take your eyes off of her. And it's not just her beauty and it's not just her acting ability, it's that thing, that magic thing that transcends the screen, where anyone and everyone goes: I want to see whatever this person does."

Meanwhile, Pugh thinks Braff is "magical." In her tribute to the director for his 46th birthday, the "Black Widow" star told the world how much she admired Braff's "need to make people laugh," his "constant generosity and love for others," and his "creativity and ability to put real and honest words on the page." She also said that Braff's "appreciation for life and excitement for LIVING is something I always take note of." Sweet!

Over the course of Florence Pugh and Zach Braff's relationship, Pugh repeatedly slammed trolls for shaming their age difference. "I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love, and I would never in my life ever, ever tell someone who they can and cannot love," she addressed her Instagram followers. "It is not your place. It has nothing to do with you." She came to Braff's defense, as well: "The abuse that you throw at him is abuse that you're throwing at me, and I don't want those followers," she added. "It's embarrassing, it's sad, and I don't know when cyberbullying became trendy."

And while their relationship didn't work out, it seems that there's absolutely no bad blood between the two of them. Braff still made it a point to publicly wish Pugh a happy birthday months after their reported breakup. "Happy birthday, legend," he wrote on his Instagram Story, along with a photo of the actor, per Page Six.

As for Pugh? Well, she admitted to having a hard time navigating things post-split. "My breakup has been very new, so I'm figuring that out," she shared with Vogue.