Florence Pugh On The Backlash To Her Relationship With Zach Braff: ‘They Imagined Me With Someone Younger’

Florence Pugh isn’t sweating the critics.

This month, the “Don’t Worry Darling” star is on the new cover of Vogue, and in the issue she opens up about everything from dating Zach Braff, to her controversial fashion choices.

Pugh and Braff dated for three years, starting in 2019, revealing last year that they had split up, but remain friends.

While they were together, the couple got plenty of backlash from some people over their gap in ages, with Pugh being 26, while Braff is 47.

Talking about that backlash, the actress says, “We weren’t in anyone’s faces. It was just that people didn’t like it. They imagined me with someone younger and someone in blockbusters. I think young relationships in Hollywood are so easily twisted because they add to the gossip sites. It’s exciting to watch. And I think I was in a relationship that didn’t do any of that.”

Florence Pugh – Photo: Colin Dodgson for Vogue

Meanwhile, Braff himself has nothing but kind things to say about his ex, telling Vogue, “I quite simply think she’s one of the greatest actors of her generation. 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.”

When it comes to fashion, Pugh also turned heads last year on more than one occasion, stepping out in sheer dresses, which were criticized by some for being too revealing.

“I’ve never been scared of what’s underneath the fabric. If I’m happy in it, then I’m gonna wear it,” she says. “Of course, I don’t want to offend people, but I think my point is: How can my nipples offend you that much? It’s very important that we do this. I know that some people might scoff at me saying that, but if a dress with my breasts peeking through is encouraging people to say, ‘Well, if you were to get raped, you would deserve it,’ it just shows me that there’s so much more work to do.”

Pugh also looks back on being a teenager and how she managed to cope with anxiety and mental distress.

“So many of the things that I did were quick fixes,”she says. “Things were so wrong in my head and things were so wrong with school life and things were so dark and scary. And so I would try and do quick things like, ‘Oh, well, I can change my nails. Oh, I can buy an eyelash kit. I can buy this weird cellulite cream on Amazon.’”

As for her acting career, though she’s had much success on-screen, Pugh shares her interest in performing in the theatre.

“Being onstage is a different thing, because you’re in front of people who need to be entertained now,” she explains. “And I know that when I do a play, it’s going to mean a different thing. Whereas if I’d done it five years ago, not as many people would’ve come. I suppose the more time that I’ve avoided it, the more the pressure builds.”