Florence Pugh— known as Flossie to her family and friends — is upending Hollywood.
But the 26-year-old actress has always done things her way, including a four-year romance with “Scrubs” star turned director Zach Braff, which she announced was over this week, telling Harper’s Bazaar: “I automatically get a lumpy throat when I talk about it.”
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.
As she told the UK’s Sunday Times last year: “I think it bugs people that it’s not who they expected [me to date]. But it’s my life and I’m not doing anything to please people or to make it a better headline or story.”
The relationship had the blessing of the actress’ parents in Oxford, England, restaurateur Clinton Pugh and dance teacher Deborah Mackin, who posted a photo of Braff giving Pugh’s grandmother a tour of NYC back in 2020.
The couple are believed to have grown close when Pugh starred in Braff’s short film, “In the Time It Takes to Get There” in 2019. They holed up at home with their dog during the pandemic, while Pugh hosted her jokey Instagram show, “Cooking With Flo.”
But Braff reportedly does not have the best reputation in Hollywood and has been seen in the past as a bit of a ladies’ man, having dated Mandy Moore, Shiri Appleby, Kirsten Dunst, model Taylor Bagley and “The O.C.” actress Bonnie Somerville.
On her podcast this week, the gossip hound known as Deux Moi chatted about it all with blogger Perez Hilton — and hit back at Pugh for telling Harper’s Bazaar she found interest in her private life “invasive.” The actress also said she had not signed up to a reality show.
Deux Moi also claimed that Braff had a certain reputation in Hollywood, adding: “He treated Mandy Moore like absolute dog s–t and she’s an angel.
“I think maybe that’s why everyone was so invested in your relationship,” she said as if speaking to Pugh, “because you were probably in first grade when all of this was happening and maybe you weren’t aware.”
Reps for Pugh and Braff were unavailable for comment.
Braff has only had one lead role of late, in the remake of “Cheaper By the Dozen,” and done some directing, including an episode of “Ted Lasso.” Pugh in on a hot streak and next month appears in Olivia Wilde’s hotly-anticipated movie, “Don’t Worry Darling,” opposite Harry Styles.
The film will have its premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 5, followed by a screening at the Deauville Film Festival before going a wide release on September 23.
As Page Six has reported, tensions were high on set and Hollywood is buzzing that the actress, who was dating Braff during filming, has fallen out with Wilde, 38, over the director hooking up with 28-year-old Styles.
The psychological thriller is described as a tale of an unhappy 1950s housewife, played by Pugh, who discovers a disturbing truth about her idyllic life, while her loving husband, played by Styles, hides a dark secret.
Pugh is part of a new breed of young Hollywood women who won’t play second fiddle to anyone.
Sources sniffed at online reports that she was paid less than Styles for the film, as one insider in the know confirmed to Page Six: “Florence was not paid less than Harry — she’s a movie star, her star is rising and she got paid to reflect that.”
Pugh has also said she’ll wear what she wants after coming under fire for showing off her nipples in a gauzy pink Valentino gown at a June fashion show, telling Bazaar: “I was comfortable with my small breasts … And showing them like that — it aggravated [people] that I was comfortable.
The movie insider said they first sat up and took notice of Pugh when they worked with her on 2019’s “Fighting With My Family,” where Pugh played young WWE wrestler Paige in a movie based on the real-life story of Saraya-Jade Bevis.
“She was old-school talent,” said the movie insider. “One of the execs said, ‘She’s a star, she’s going to be something’. She was a total professional, always with a smile. She treated everybody like they were gold, from the crew to the publicists, and remembered everyone’s names.
“There was something really special about her.”
Born in Oxford, she made her acting debut in 2014 in “The Falling” and won a British Independent Film Award for “Lady Macbeth” in 2016. She went on to win plaudits for 2019’s “Midsommar” and a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for “Little Women,” released the same year.
But her relationship with Braff has, at times, overshadowed things. In 2019, when Braff responded to Pugh’s Instagram post with a princess emoji, a follower commented: “You’re 44 years old.” The actress swiftly hit back, writing: “and yet he got it.”
In April 2020, Pugh spoke out after she was castigated for wishing Braff a happy 45th birthday, posting a video in which she said her Instagram page had been overwhelmed with abuse, adding, “I am 24 years old. I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love … The abuse you throw at him is the abuse you throw at me, and I do not want those followers.”
Breaking the news of the split, she told Bazaar: “We’ve been trying to do this separation without the world knowing, because it’s been a relationship that everybody has an opinion on.”
Before their relationship ended, Pugh and Braff worked together on the upcoming drama “A Good Person.” Braff wrote, directed, and produced the film with Pugh as the lead.
“The movie that we made together genuinely was probably one of my most favorite experiences,” Pugh told Bazaar. “It felt like a very natural and easy thing to do.”
She’s been busy filming “Dune: Part Two,” playing Princess Irulan, in the Middle East, and will also star in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” to be released next year. This fall, she will appear in Netflix movie “The Wonder.”
The star is also busy renovating her new home in London and told Bazaar: “I feel like I am now getting into this groove in my career where I’m knowing what I can take, what I give, and what I will not accept anymore.”
