Zach Braff & Florence Pugh relationship was ‘a bit of a ‘Star is Born’ king of thing’

Florence Pugh is one of several cover stars for Harper’s Bazaar’s September issue. As we discussed, in Pugh’s Bazaar interview, she revealed that she and Zach Braff had broken up earlier this year. Pugh said that they hadn’t confirmed anything publicly for months because she knew people would be happy about the breakup. It was… a weird way to frame a breakup. Now, don’t get me wrong, people were somewhat happy that Braff and Pugh had split up. Their 21-year age difference felt even bigger given Pugh’s lack of confidence in the relationship and her inability to simply not care about random people on the internet commenting on her relationship. Well, Page Six had some information/gossip about what maybe went down between Braff and Pugh.

Braff is 21 years her senior and, throughout their time together, Pugh was forced to defend their relationship, slamming those who criticized her for dating someone old enough to be her father. And in the end, the generational difference might have done them in.

According to one movie industry insider, “I know that Flo was head over heels for Zach — they both were wrapped up in each other — but it’s a bit of a ‘Star is Born’ kind of thing: She’s on the up and he’s kind of plateaued in the industry. She’s super hot right now and everyone loves her.”

Another Hollywood source said the pair faltered amid a difficult few years for Braff. As Pugh’s star has risen, Braff, 47, suffered the loss of his dad Harold in 2018, followed by the death of one of his best friends, actor Nick Cordero, 41, from Covid in 2020.

“I believe that Zac has had a really tough time, especially last year, dealing with everything,” said the source. The “Garden State” director shared a home — and a dog, Billie Braff-Pugh — with Pugh in the Hollywood Hills.

“From what I know, she’s devastated that it’s over,” said the movie industry insider of Pugh.

[From Page Six]

Did this relationship really rise to the level of “A Star Is Born” though? It’s more like Braff’s thing was dating younger actresses and ingenues on the come up and he’s gotten to the age where people are like “dude, can you date someone closer to your age?” But sure, I’ll believe that her success gave him a case of the grumpies and he probably made her feel like sh-t about her success too, he seems like that kind of guy. He has a history of dating famous women then complaining about how their fame makes him feel like sh-t. He did that to Mandy Moore.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.

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12 Responses to “Zach Braff & Florence Pugh relationship was ‘a bit of a ‘Star is Born’ king of thing’”

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  1. Veronica S. says:
    August 23, 2022 at 10:25 am

    Oh, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s exactly what happened lol. He strikes me as one of those guys who loves dating younger women because he prefers being the “mature, experienced” one in the relationship, i.e. the one who holds the position of intellectual and social superior. The moment she started to surpass him, it couldn’t work because now the power dynamics were flipped. A lot of men are raised, subconsciously or otherwise, to think they can’t not be the socioeconomic star of the relationship and still have value.

  2. girl_ninja says:
    August 23, 2022 at 10:35 am

    WTH? He needs to get a hold of himself and get some therapy. He really has to think about how his insecurities are messing with the women he becomes involved with. Goodness.

  3. Coco says:
    August 23, 2022 at 10:46 am

    Ya dude needs therapy and not a relationship. It makes sense why he goes after younger woman so he can feel superior to them, then puts them down if they become too successful. He seems like would feel threatened by dating women his age.

  4. Lisa says:
    August 23, 2022 at 11:10 am

    lol you sir are no Frederic march, James mason or kris Kristofferson. calm down.

    has anyone ever seen this guy with ray Romano? I cant tell them apart

    • Dee Dee says:
      August 23, 2022 at 11:27 am

      IKR?

      I was kind of thinking that he looks like a young Garry Shandling. But Garry Shandling was brilliant and kind. So, I can’t compare them physicially. My rules.

  5. Hollz says:
    August 23, 2022 at 11:52 am

    I *am* happy they broke up. Age gap relationships are inherently icky, and with the celebrity power level layer on top of that? Icky squared.

    However, I understand how hard it would be to hear that during a breakup, especially from SO many voices, so I probably wouldn’t have commented at the time. Now, a few months later on a site she probably won’t see? I’ll say it.

    Also she has SIX movies either in post or currently filming. She’s definitely on the rise, while he hasn’t really done anything of note since scrubs ended in 2010.

  6. A says:
    August 23, 2022 at 12:14 pm

    I really liked Scrubs as a show, but Zach Braff has always been really weird as a person, tbh. It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what makes him weird, but it’s just something about the way he deals with the publicity and the media? I dunno.

    As for Florence Pugh…I know, I know, she’s the critical (and maybe commercial?) darling of the current moment and what not….but she gives me a weird vibe too. Like she’s got some weird/strong opinions that she knows she’d be canceled for, if she ever bothered to vocalize them. I think people of my age (mid to late twenties) kind of expect “better” from her in a sense, bc the general wisdom in this age bracket right now is that relationships with big age differences often have a lot of issues overall, especially if one of the parties is only in their twenties.

    People in their twenties, I think, are better equipped now to recognize the seriously problematic aspects of relationships than they were before, and women in particular are more able to choose what relationships they want to be in. Things are much different today than how it used to be. Women don’t need to marry for financial security. The period of time a person is in their twenties is also a very very transitional stage for one’s career and general character building. That could make it hard to make a relationship work with someone who might be at a point in their life when they are much more settled in both. There doesn’t need to be anything wrong with either person, that’s just how it goes when two people are at entirely different points in their life.

    As for Florence Pugh and Zach Braff–I think she broke up with him bc she realized exactly how annoying he is as a person. She doesn’t need to care what the larger public thinks abt her relationships, but I’m willing to bet there were several people in her private life who probably went, “Girl, wtf are you doing?” at multiple points during this relationship, and she felt compelled to defend herself from that. But I think she realized that at the end of the day…her friends were kind of right in what they were saying, but she doesn’t want to admit it, to them or herself.

    • tealily says:
      August 23, 2022 at 4:05 pm

      It gives me so much hope to hear someone in their mid to late twenties saying all this. With all the Roe v. Wade stuff happening, in particular, it’s easy to feel like we’re going backwards in terms of women’s autonomy. But you can’t take knowledge away from people! It sounds like y’all — or at least you! — have got your heads on straight.

  7. Cacec04 says:
    August 23, 2022 at 12:50 pm

    I was in an unhealthy relationship in my 20s with a guy I had been friends with for a long time. Everyone that knew us voiced concerned opinions when we were getting together but I justified it all by thinking we were “so in love” and that people just didn’t “get him” the way I did. After it ended and I was a shell of my former self, people voiced relief and expressed exasperation on how I stayed in it without seeing what everyone rose did. I was still hurting and those comments just made me feel even dumber. It wasn’t until I had healed a bit that I was able to reflect and see all those red flags people warned me about. I hope she can get out of her own denial and sense of pride to see why “everyone” had an opinion and didn’t like this relationship for a reason.

  8. Justme says:
    August 23, 2022 at 3:56 pm

    The fact that her dad and Zachary look similar is rather creepy to me

  9. tealily says:
    August 23, 2022 at 4:07 pm

    The “A Star Is Born” comparison also makes me think of him as controlling, like he “made” her (which he certainly didn’t). Anyway, not a good look. I hope she’s grown from this and will soon see that this is for the better, if she hasn’t already.

  10. CourtneyB says:
    August 23, 2022 at 7:36 pm

    Makes you wonder about those Will poulter rumors. Didn’t people think she and Zach were still together when the photos came out? They absolutely could be just friends but I seem to remember she deflected by indicating she was in a relationship with Zach still.