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Two years after revealing her breakup from Zach Braff, Florence Pugh confirmed to British Vogue that she is in a new relationship. She told the outlet in September 2024, “Okay, so something that I resonate with is that I believe that if magic is real, then it’s falling in love. And I am someone that loves falling in love. I love looking after people. I love caring for people. I love the feeling of someone being there. I love knowing that someone is thinking about me and someone cares for me in the same way that I’m thinking about caring for them. I think in this portion of my life, I’m trying to make sure that I’m making all the right decisions so that I can have the thing that I want…which is safety, family, a home and security.”
She didn’t name her partner, but spoke about the fluid nature of their relationship: “We are figuring what we actually are. And I think for the first time, I’m not allowing myself to go on a roller coaster. I’m allowing myself to take time to let something evolve and let it be completely real to its core, as opposed to racing into that.” Of this early-stage romance, she added, “Falling is the most amazing feeling, but unfortunately if that’s the only thing that you know in a relationship, then that’s the thing that you chase. That’s not gonna last.”
Pugh’s remarks come after The Sun reported on September 4 that she is “secretly dating” 28-year-old Peaky Blinders actor Finn Cole. Cole and Pugh were photographed leaving The Perfect Couple’s London premiere after-party together the day before. A guest claimed to Daily Mail, “I saw them holding hands at the after-party at The Hoxton hotel.”
While the two actors have not confirmed their romantic relationship, they have been publicly supportive friends for years. In light of Pugh’s new interview and their recent sighting, get to know Cole and his connection to the British actress.
Pugh has been open about how she is looking for someone with whom she can start a family someday.
Pugh spoke to British Vogue about how working on We Live in Time changed the way she approached her love life. “I was at the right age for this movie to land,” she said. “I was going through a lot of weird stuff with relationships last year, and I think part of the story is to not be passive, is not to let things wash over you. I want to go and find love, and I want to have babies.”
She clarified that she has wanted children for a long time: “Oh, I’ve always been thinking about starting a family,” she said. “I’ve wanted to have kids since I was a child myself. I love the idea of a big family. I come from a big family. I love kids. I love hanging out with kids. If ever there’s a dinner party, I go straight to the kids to chat to them. So much easier. I love the honesty. I love how bored they can get. I’ve never stopped knowing that I want to have kids. It’s just figuring out when.”
Pugh revealed she isn’t planning on discussing her love life publicly.
While Pugh spoke a little about her relationship with her ex Zach Braff, she told British Vogue that she prefers to keep her private life just that. “I think for anyone I’m with, I want to protect them,” she said. “It’s not nice knowing that people are saying the worst things I’ve ever read about someone that I love. So that was necessary. I needed to talk about it [Braff]. I think any relationship in this limelight is going to be stressed.”
The Sun claimed that Pugh and Cole were secretly dating in early September.
A source spoke to the British tabloid and alleged that Cole and Pugh had struck up a romance that they were trying to keep under the radar.
A source told The Sun that Pugh and Cole were at The Perfect Couple’s London premiere after-party on September 3. “Florence and Finn appeared to be very much together, and they were having a great time,” the insider claimed. “They kept a low profile at the premiere and party, and left out of the back door together and got into the same car. They were there to support friends in the film and seemed keen not to be pictured or seen. Florence and Finn seemed very happy together. But they made a quick exit when the event was wrapping up, and slipped away.” Daily Mail ran photos of them there and wrote that they left in the same car.
DeuxMoi received multiple submissions about Cole and Pugh being sighted together.
Unverified celebrity gossip outlet published multiple submissions from people saying they saw Cole and Pugh together in London on September 15. One person wrote, “She was gazing into his eyes [and] looked very in love.”
Pugh and Cole have been friends since 2017.
Pugh has been publicly supportive of Cole for years. She first started liking his Instagrams in June 2017.
Florence Pugh’s first like on Cole Finn’s Instagram account
She most recently liked and commented on his latest Instagram, shared on July 17. Cole and WhatsOnStage did a collaboration post revealing the first look of him in Red Speedo (where Cole’s abs were on display as he wore a red speedo). Pugh wrote, “Oh my gosh this is unbelievably exciting!” She added a second comment, adding, “Granny Pat wants to come.. #obvi.”
Cole, for his part, has also liked many of Pugh’s Instagrams. He most recently gave some love to her post shared on September 9.
Cole and Pugh were photographed together with friends at Glastonbury this summer.
Cole is a 28-year-old British actor most famous for his roles on Peaky Blinders and Animal Kingdom.
Cole’s breakout role was as Michael Gray on Peaky Blinders. His older brother, Joe Cole, plays Gray’s cousin John Shelby on the show and helped get Cole the part. As Cole explained to Interview magazine in June 2016, “My first real experience of acting was Peaky Blinders. That was the most intense experience. In those situations you learn so quickly, and I did. My brother had the script for the second season—they had already done the first—and he said there was a great part for me. One thing led to another and I found myself in the audition room with Colm McCarthy, Shaheen Baig, and Laurie Borg. I had a confidence about me because there was no pressure; there was no feeling that I had to get it. I was so pessimistic about actually getting the role.”
Finn Cole in November 2023
Cole grew up in South West London’s Kingston and got into acting as a teenager.
Cole told Interview in 2016, “I first became interested [in acting] when I was in school. I was surrounded by people who were into acting. I had a teacher who I got along with, one of my favorite teachers, and he got me into it. Trying to entertain was something I always got a kick from. It excited me quite a lot. Growing up, it was a hobby, always something I did with friends—we’d put on shows. Then I joined the National Youth Theatre when I was 17, which was great ’cause we it’s a bunch of young people like myself.”
He was also very into rugby, he told Gentlemen’s Journal in late 2017. “I’d love to still be playing,” he said. “But if you try to play it ‘safely’ then you’re actually more likely to give yourself a bad injury.”
The British actor is a Scorpio born in 1995.
Cole was born on Nov. 9, 1995 in Kingston, London, making him a Scorpio. Pugh is a Capricorn, born on Jan. 3, 1996 in Oxford, England. Scorpios and Capricorns are both “business-savvy signs,” the AstroTwins wrote for ELLE, with incredible potential if they “swear off secrecy.”
They “are masters of underhanded power plays that could topple this merger fast,” the AstroTwins detailed. “As you grow closer, learn and practice direct communication. Master that, and the rest is a cakewalk.”
Cole said fame hadn’t really affected his daily life in 2017.
While Cole had already gotten high-profile roles, the actor told Gentlemen’s Journal in its November/December 2017 issue that he can still fly under the radar. “Although there has been the odd time I’ve been sitting in a restaurant and someone’s been looking at me for a very long period of time and I wonder if [they might recognize me],” he conceded. “I never say anything.”
Cole acted alongside Margot Robbie in Dreamland and credited her for making him a better actor.
Cole has shared the screen with A-listers such as Anya Taylor-Joy in Peaky Blinders and Margot Robbie in 2019’s Dreamland. He spoke to Variety in November 2020 about what it was like working with the Australian actress: “When I was on the train going in for my audition in London to meet Margot, I was very nervous,” he said. “I had prepared as much as I could, but I worried I was going to forget the lines. That’s credit to how impressive I thought Margot was, because I don’t usually get like that. As soon as she walked into the room and we got to know each other, that immediately dropped. She’s got a welcoming personality and from day one I felt like we were collaborating together. She listened to everything I had to say. I learned so much from her. I believe she made me a stronger actor.”
Cole admitted that he is drawn to playing sociopaths onscreen because he is intrigued by their psychology.
Variety asked him about his roles as Peaky Blinders’ Michael and Animal Kingdom’s J, as both characters were seduced into the world of crime. Cole explained, “I’m fascinated by personalities that succeed in that way of life and those that fail in that way of life. I’m really intrigued about why and what makes someone be able to make these decisions and not feel remorse or guilt. I like to look into what makes a human being take that path. Maybe that makes me slightly sociopathic, I don’t know. You don’t hear many stories about people who grow up, have normal lives, pay taxes and pay bills, have mortgages and have kids. You hear stories about Billy the Kid for a reason.”
He contrasted the two characters in his 2016 Interview story. “Michael is definitely a far more intense, slightly sociopathic character, which is quite exhausting, but I’m in fewer scenes,” he said. “With J, he’s a survivor in this animal kingdom, as it were. He’s gotten good at is not giving anything away and avoiding showing his emotions and his plans. It’s very difficult to read someone like J. They’re two very different characters, but they have their similarities—they’re young and new to these families and these lives and these gangs. They’re different in how they deal with situations and where they find themselves. J is trying to find himself and where he belongs; he’s not a predator at this stage. Michael is a predator. He wants to be at the top and he’ll do anything to get there.
“To get into them is always very fun,” he continued. “I stay in an American accent all day when I’m playing J just to keep my focus. The immaturity is important as well. I don’t stay in Michael’s accent. I might do that next time because my accent is not great. With both characters, and all characters I play, they are parts of me that I’ve always wanted to explore, they’re pieces of me. Finding that and getting into that is always quite easy for me because it’s always something I’ve felt. The way they react is sometimes how I’d react to situations. They have thoughts that I’ve definitely had. It’s something that I take from myself and push a little bit further.”
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.