Is Zach Braff Dating Florence Pugh? Their Age Difference Is Riling up Fans

The star of Garden State, Scrubs, and Wish I Was Here broke things off with his ex-girlfriend of five years, Taylor Bagley in 2014, and had been single for several years — until early 2019, that is. But who is Zach Braff dating?

Zach tried to keep the new relationship a secret, but he couldn't deceive the eagle-eyed paparazzi. 

The actor was first spotted holding hands with his new beau, Florence Pugh in April 2019. The two set out for a leisurely stroll around New York, only to be spotted by the press. 

They were hailed as "Hollywood's newest couple" by The Daily Mail. 

In the beginning, Zach and Florence kept the relationship private for the most part — and only went out together in public on a handful of occasions. 

In October 2019, the duo went for a quick grocery run to the Hollywood branch of Whole Foods. Their casual flirtation over the vegetable shelf didn't go unobserved. 

"It was very clear to me that they’re a couple," a Whole Foods customer told Page Six at the time. 

Aside from these two instances, Zach and Florence managed to keep a low profile for quite a while.

Although they both attended the premiere of Marriage Story — held at New York's Paris Theatre on Nov. 10 — they refused to have their pictures taken together.

Casual onlookers had the chance to evince a similar strategy being put to use at the New York premiere of Little Women — where the stars posed separately just the same. 

In December 2019, Florence posted a snap taken in front of her go-to Matzo ball soup place on Instagram, which Zach cheekily commented on with an emoji. 

This caused a great stir among fans, who were quick to point out that the 23-year-old Florence is 21 years younger than Zach. According to some, it is inappropriate to pursue a relationship if there's an age gap. 

"Zach Braff, you're 44 years old," opined a person. 

"and yet he got it," went Florence's response to the unwarranted criticism. 

Although the relationship might have only begun less than a year ago, Florence and Zach are already busy developing various collaborations. 

Their first-ever project, a short film titled In The Time It Takes to Get There revolves around the glorious life of a social media influencer who lives in a castle, gets dressed with the help of a dozen or so maidservants, and gets to eat as much cake as her corset allows for it. 

Written and directed by Zach, the movie stars Florence as Lucille and Alicia Silverstone as her bossy, ever-so-commanding housekeeper.  

What's more, Florence and Zach have a full feature film, The Secret Ingredients of Rocket Cola in the works. 

As per The Collider,  the movie will chronicle the story of completely different brothers who decide to join arms to save a company from being shut down. However, Florence's other engagements — including her role in Black Widow — might pose a delay. 

Florence did so by sharing a photo of Zach snoozing on a couch with an equally sleeping-looking dog, along with a birthday poem for her beau. "Today we shall smile wider than the clouds are grey. April 6th and we’re celebrating hard!" the 24-year-old wrote for her 45-year-old partner. "Happy Birthday wishes, boogies and cheers for this special person. Raise those bubbles and jiggle!"

Just a few days later, Florence returned to Instagram with a video addressing the nasty comments she had received as a result of posting that photo of Zach.

“Within about eight minutes of the photo being posted, I had about 70 percent of the comments hurling abuse and being horrid and basically bullying someone on my page,” she said in the video. “I will not allow that behavior on that page." (Indeed, it seems she disabled comments on the post.)

She continued, “I do not need you to tell me who I should or should not love and I would never in my life — ever ever — tell anyone who they can or cannot love. It is not your place, and really it has nothing to do with you.”

For those who disagreed with her message, Florence had this to say: "Please unfollow me," she said. "Because the abuse that you throw at him is abuse that you're throwing at me. And I don't want those followers."

You tell 'em, Florence! 

So yes, Zach and Florence are absolutely dating. And they give precisely zero effs about what haters or fans think about their age difference or how "appropriate" their relationship is. Because she's a grown-a** woman.