Florence Pugh is undoubtedly one of the most talented young actresses out there right now. From her breakout role in Midsommer to her Oscar-nominated role in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, and even a charming bout in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, few actresses have a range comparable to Pugh.
Everything she’s in, I’ll watch. And I’m especially excited for her upcoming erotic thriller with none other than superstar, actor, and the people’s boyfriend, Harry Styles.
And while the film promises a heavy amount of heady drama, Pugh’s own life currently has some drama of its own. Let me count the ways:
- Her quiet, surprising split from actor, Zach Braff
- Her recent, revealing cover story for Harper’s Bazaar
- Her anticipated, upcoming role in Don’t Worry Darling
- And, last but not least, rumors of a feud between Florence Pugh and — gasp! — Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde
There’s so much to unpack.
Let’s get into it.
Florence Pugh and Zach Braff Announce Their Break Up
First and foremost, the breakup. Pugh and Braff have been fodder for media fascination since they started dating. Sure, they’re both darlings of the Indie film world. Sure, they both have a charming air about them that makes them both successful and likable. But what gave many pause, was the age gap of more than twenty years.
The two worked together on Braff’s upcoming film, A Good Person, in which Pugh was the lead. “The movie that we made together genuinely was probably one of my most favorite experiences,” Pugh told Harper’s Bazaar. “It felt like a very natural and easy thing to do.”
Naturally, chemistry sparked on set. But their relationship was largely private. Perhaps this was partly based on the scrutiny they knew their 21-year age gap would face. Pugh is 26 while Braff is 47. Yikes.
However, the relationship wasn’t meant to last, and after almost three years of dating, Pugh announced they had split.
“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 said. “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. So we’ve done that. I automatically get a lumpy throat when I talk about it.”
What Else Did Florence Pugh Reveal in her Harper’s Bazaar Cover Story?
As the first major stop on Florence Pugh’s press tour, the Harper’s Bazaar cover story was bound to be juicy. It’s aptly titled “Florence Pugh Is Just Being Honest.” After breaking the breakup news, this intriguing tell-all revealed new insights of Pugh’s life, love, and upcoming feature film.
Pugh talks about her recent battle against body shamers after Valentino’s couture show in Rome this past July, her experience in cinema so far, and more before getting into the meat of the interview. She reveals that she wasn’t initially cast in the lead role alongside Styles, but after the pandemic’s scheduling issues, she went from a side character to the lead. Praise be.
“It was a different beast,” Pugh said, but an easy decision. “I love playing a distressed woman.”
But what has not been easy is dealing with the scrutiny that comes with a film like this. Specifically, a film starring Harry Styles. Florence Pugh may be recognizable and accomplished, but her experience thus far has largely been in indie movies, or the closely guarded world of the MCU. Don’t Worry Darling has placed her in a new ring of surveyal.
She candidly revealed that this scrutiny is not necessarily welcomed. “I don’t think that people, just because they have this job, that every aspect of their life should be watched and written about. We haven’t signed up for a reality TV show.”
What Can We Expect From Don’t Worry Darling?
But naturally, the curiosity persists. Especially since the movie seems so compelling.
The film is described as an erotic, psychological thriller. It is about a 1950s housewife (Pugh) living with her husband (Styles) in a utopian experimental community. While their husbands work at the mysterious Victory Project, Pugh and her fellow housewives (an impressive cast including Wilde, Gemma Chan, Sydney Chandler, and Kiki Lane) live a quiet, suburban life. Until Pugh begins to worry that her husband’s glamorous company may be hiding disturbing secrets.
The trailer alone gives me chills. It’s giving Gatbsy mixed with Basic Instinct. Stepford Wives mixed with Gone Girl. Wilde compares it to Inception, The Matrix, and The Truman Show.
“Imagine a life where you could have anything you ever wanted, not just the tangible things… but also the things that really matter—true love with the perfect partner, real trusted friendships,” Wilde said at CinemaCon. “What would it take for you to give up that perfect life? What are you willing to sacrifice to do what’s right? Are you willing to dismantle the system that is designed to serve you?”
A cast of gorgeous people keeping secrets and being hot? I’m there. Plus, I can’t wait to see Styles test out his acting chops.
But rumors from the set say there’s more to the cast’s relationships than meets the eye.
What Happened Between Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, and Florence Pugh
Obviously, I was looking forward to a Styles-Pugh press tour. Especially now that she’s newly single, I wanted the pair to sizzle. Yes, I know that Styles and Wilde are together after meeting on the movie set. And I’m rooting for them. But the charming Brits together would be press tour magic. I wanted the memes. The magic. A red carpet scene reminiscent of Chalamet and Zendaya.
And then the red carpet was ripped out from under me. Of course, DeuxMoi broke the news first. The gossip site alleges that there’s been drama and tension on set since the movie began filming. Largely produced during the ‘unprecedented’ time of the pandemic, of course, nerves would be high. But it seems the tension was more than fleeting on-set annoyances.
We don’t know much. But it seems that the Wilde-Styles-Pugh trio is rife with distaste and drama. TikTok and DeuxMoi DMs have been blowing up with alleged information. It started with a blind item on Deuxmoi’s Instagram that read, “I have it on very good authority that the director was not as involved in 'directing' as it would seem.” Then, another source alleged to Page Six that the dubious timeline of Styles and Wilde’s relationship did not go over well with Pugh.
At the end of the day, sources say Pugh was fed up with the lack of professionalism on set. Even in her Bazaar interview, she praises the professionalism of the crew — without mentioning the cast. “If I shout about one thing,” she says, “it’s that these people made that movie happen. They came to work every day on time and fully respected the process.”
In fact, Pugh is not impressed with how the film has been talked about in the press, despite its significant buzz. Maybe I’m just reading into it, but she seems tired of talking about Harry Styles. In her interview, she even slammed the fascination with their intimate scenes — despite fueling this fire herself in other press.
“When it’s reduced to your sex scenes, or to watch the most famous man in the world go down on someone, it’s not why we do it. It’s not why I’m in this industry,” Pugh says. “Obviously, the nature of hiring the most famous pop star in the world, you’re going to have conversations like that. That’s just not what I’m going to be discussing because [this movie is] bigger and better than that. And the people who made it are bigger and better than that.”
What’s brewing beneath the surface is beyond me. But it does break my heart to know that we won’t be seeing a whimsical, joke-filled press tour from my favorite Brits. Sigh. Guess I’ll just sit here waiting for the movie and dreaming of Pugh’s eventual press tour for the second Dune film in 2023. Timmy, Florence, Zendaya — please don’t let me down!