A complete timeline of Florence Pugh and Zach Braff’s relationship
“Little Women” actress Florence Pugh confirmed in August 2022 that she and Zach Braff quietly called it quits earlier that year.
The notoriously private pair — who were often criticized over their 21-year age gap — quarantined together during the COVID-19 pandemic, adopted a dog and publicly gushed about each other on birthdays and holidays.
Look back at all of Pugh and Braff’s major milestones during their nearly three-year relationship.
First clues
The Oscar nominee and the “Scrubs” alum first sparked romance rumors in April 2019 when they were spotted holding hands in New York City. The sighting came a few months after they collaborated on his short film “In the Time It Takes to Get There.”
The pair weren’t spotted together again until October 2019 when Page Six exclusively reported that they got cozy at a Whole Foods store in Hollywood.
“It was very clear to me that they’re a couple,” an eyewitness told us at the time.
Instagram-official
The pair made their social media debut in November 2019 with a snap at Disneyland.
“Epic day,” Braff captioned a photo of the pair posing at the California theme park with four other friends.
The actor previously signaled he had more than a professional relationship with Pugh after sharing a picture of her with Amanda Kloots and two other friends, which he captioned, “People I love.”
Age is but a number
Pugh finally confirmed the romance in December 2019 when she clapped back at a troll for criticizing the pair’s age difference.
When one social media user pointed out Braff’s age, the “Don’t Worry Darling” star replied, “And yet he got it.” She later told Elle magazine it was a “necessary” response because “people need to realize that it’s hurtful.”
In fact, she spoke at length in the June 2020 issue of Elle UK about the behavior of internet trolls, which she found “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,” she said.
“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. 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.”
Pugh also took to social media to defend her relationship choice, telling her followers that “being hateful is not trendy.”
“The world is aching and the world is dying, and a few of you decided to bully, for no reason,” she said, referencing the pandemic. “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 anyone who they can and cannot love. It is not your place.”
Pugh concluded, “The abuse that you’re throwing at him, you’re throwing at me.”
Pure puppy love
The couple, who spent lockdown together as coronavirus spread, took their relationship to the next level when they adopted an adorable puppy named Billie in May 2020.
“Officially adopted, Billie. Thanks to the @thelabellefoundation,” Braff announced at the time. “We tried to foster, but then we fell in love. #fosterfail #adoptdontshop.”
Marriage rumors swirl
Braff sparked speculation that the couple had secretly tied the knot when he was spotted wearing a ring on his left hand. The pair were photographed walking their pup, Billie, in March 2021 when Braff showed off his new bling.
Although the rumors weren’t true, they continued gushing over each other in interviews.
Braff’s last public remarks about his girlfriend came the following year.
“I know that anything Florence does is incredible. People say she’s maybe the best actress of her generation. I think she’s one of the best actresses working,” he told Collider in March 2022.
Calling it quits
Pugh confirmed she and Braff ended their relationship in early 2022.
“We’ve been trying to do this separation without the world knowing, because it’s been a relationship that everybody has an opinion on,” she told Harper’s Bazaar in her 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.”
She continued, “So we’ve done that. I automatically get a lumpy throat when I talk about it.”
Braff has yet to speak about the split.
