Fame has its downside, one of which being the way that the public becomes invested in one’s personal life. Just look at celebrity pairs like Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce or former couples like Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. Actress Florence Pugh experienced this firsthand, with plenty of fans commenting about her former relationship with Zach Braff. Now she’s opened up about that break-up, and why it’s “not easy” to date her.
Pugh and Braff broke up back in 2022, after much discourse online about their age gap and relationship as a whole. It’s been a few years, with the former couple still managing to work together after the split. Given this distance from the situation, Pugh spoke to Harper’s Bazaar about what the break-up was like, sharing:
It was a scary break-up. And I think that movie forced me to realise I can’t wait for people any more. I can’t accept this version of love. I have to help myself.
I think many of us can relate to break-ups being “scary”, and the struggle of finding one’s self after unliking from a romantic partner. And to make the situation more complicated for Pugh, she also had outside voices via fan reactions factoring into her emotional state. Because while she’s got a ton of fans who are eager to see her return to the big screen in upcoming Marvel movies, having this public of a split must have been uniquely challenging.
In the interview, the Dune actress confirmed she was in love again, and revealed she’s approaching this relationship differently. As she shared to the outlet:
I’m more sympathetic to the people who are in love with me, because it’s not easy! I’m tricky – I’m always busy, I can never make dates. But it’s not good enough for me to ask someone to just accept that. I’ll just end up alone. I don’t want that – I want a family.
Honestly, this is a fair point. And it’s another reason why finding fame can be tricky. Because while Pugh has been filming non-stop and working with collaborators like Christopher Nolan, it also means an unpredictable schedule and tons of time away from home. And that can be challenging for any relationship. The Midsommar actress shared more about this dynamic, saying:
I’ve worked back-to-back since I started, and I’ve missed so much. I’ve now come to terms with things that I don’t like about myself and want to change. I don’t want to have things just happen to me any more.
Talk about empowering. It sounds like Pugh has learned a lot about what type of life and career she wants to lead. And while her star power continues to grow, she’s also going to be firmly in the driver’s seat for what comes next.
The 29 year-old actress is attached to a number of exciting projects including Marvel’s Thunderbolts*. That crossover project hits theaters May 2nd as part of the 2025 movie release list.