A Timeline of Florence Pugh and Zach Braff's Relationship: From Just Friends to Defending Their Love

Florence Pugh‘s relationship with Zach Braff appears stronger than ever.

The Little Women star, 24, recently came to the actor’s, 45, defense on Instagram after the couple received criticism for their 21 year age difference.

Pugh and Braff have kept their relationship low-key, never speaking about each other in interviews and rarely making an appearance on each other’s social media accounts.

Despite that, Florence made their relationship Instagram official earlier this week when she wished the Scrubs actor a happy birthday, calling him a “special person.”

Here’s everything to know about Pugh and Braff’s blooming relationship.

1. The pair have been friends since at least August 2018

The first inkling the two knew each other came in August 2018, when the Black Widow actress shared a photo of herself lying on the ground of a hotel which Braff liked.

“We did an impromptu photoshoot in the lobby of The Sanderson… safe to say- I won,” Pugh wrote in the caption. “I don’t know what I’m winning but I deffo won. #alwayscameraready#puckerup @hughoshea (Look at the discomfort on my face).”

florence pugh instagram Aug 2018

2. They both worked together on Braff’s short film

Pugh was cast in Braff’s short film In The Time It Takes to Get There, which was released in April 2019. The project, made for Adobe Cloud from a contest-winning idea, saw Pugh play an influencer from the 19th century.

Alicia Silverstone also starred in the film playing Lucille’s assistant, Eliza, who keeps the influencer on a schedule even as she burns out living a lifestyle in which she is constantly posting about products on social media. The short film made its debut the same month the two were spotted together for the first time.

3. The pair have spent time with each other’s friends and family

The comedian shared a photograph of himself having a drink with actor Toby Sebastian, who is Pugh’s older brother, in June 2019.

“#cheers,” Braff captioned the photo. Pugh commented on the photo with a lip emoji.

Zach Braff https://www.instagram.com/zachbraff/

In October, the actor also shared a photo of Pugh alongside three of his friends with the caption, “People I love.”

Actress Julia Garner commented on the photo, “I love Florence too!”

zach braff instagram

Just a month later, the couple appeared together on Braff’s Instagram account when he posted a photo of them and their friends at Disneyland.

“Epic day at @disneyland #Disneyland #HappiestPlace,” Braff wrote in the caption.

In December, Pugh shared a photo of herself outside of Greenblatt’s Deli, a famous restaurant in Los Angeles.

“First pit-stop, Matzo Ball soup. #curingjetlag101,” Pugh wrote in the caption. Braff commented with a princess emoji, to which a fan replied with, “You’re 44 years old.”

Pugh defended the actor, writing, “And yet he got it.”

Florence Pugh/Instagram

Florence Pugh/Instagram

The two were spotted having a date night at the San Vicente Bungalows, an exclusive social club in Los Angeles, before Pugh’s Oscar nomination for Little Women.

The couple celebrated the news with a bottle of champagne and a kiss while at a press day.

4. Braff and Pugh have been self-isolating together

Amid the coronavirus pandemic and California’s stay at home orders, the couple has been self-isolating together in Los Angeles.

Pugh and Braff were photographed wearing gloves while out and stocking up on groceries. They arrived at the store on the back of Braff’s motorcycle.

5. Pugh wished Braff a happy birthday

Earlier this week, the actress publicly acknowledged their relationship with an Instagram birthday tribute to Braff by sharing a photo of him and the dog they were fostering together, as she’d previously said in her Instagram Stories.

“Today we shall smile wider than the clouds are grey. April 6th and we’re celebrating hard!” she wrote in the caption. “Happy Birthday wishes, boogies and cheers for this special person. Raise those bubbles and jiggle!”

6. She defended their age difference

Shortly after Pugh’s birthday tribute to Braff, the Fighting with my Family star sternly reprimanded her followers for criticizing the age 21-year age difference between herself and the actor.

Pugh began the clip by explaining that she wrestled with the idea of speaking out, but ultimately felt compelled to do so.

“On Monday, I posted a photo in honor of Zach’s birthday and I wrote a birthday message underneath. Within about eight minutes of the photo being posted, I had about 70 percent of the comments hurling abuse and being horrid — basically bullying someone on my page,” Pugh said.

“It is the first time in my entire Instagram life that I’ve had to turn off the comments on my page. I’ve never been an Instagram page that encourages that. I’ve never been an Instagram page that likes that toxic vibe,” Pugh continued.

Pugh shared that she aims to have a page that “tries to be positive and tries to make people smile.”“I will not allow that behavior on my page. I’m not about that. It makes me upset,” she said. ““It makes me upset that during this time when we need to be together, the world is aching and the world is dying, and a few of you decided to bully for no reason.”

Pugh also pointed out she had been a working actress and earning her own money since she was 17.

“I am 24 years old. I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love and I would never in my life tell anyone who they can and cannot love,” Pugh said. “It is not your place.”

“The abuse that you throw at him is abuse that you are throwing at me, and I don’t want those followers. I do not want to have to be protecting my comments every time I post a picture of him. I really hope that I can continue this relationship with a lot of you,” Pugh added.