Florence Pugh and Zach Braff have confirmed their break up

"I automatically get a lumpy throat when I talk about it"

Florence Pugh and Zach Braff have broken up after three years together, with the couple choosing to keep the news of their split private for the past six months.

It was Pugh who confirmed their separation this week to Harper's Bazaar, offering break up advice and explaining their reasons for keeping it private. The Don't Worry, Darling actress cited the public's reaction to their relationship as one of the key reasons for them staying silent.

"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 explained. "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."

Their three-year relationship has been surrounded by controversy from the beginning, with Braff being 21 years Pugh's senior. This subjected the pair to a tidal wave of backlash, with the now 26-year-old even having to release a statement at the time in defence of their relationship.

"I've always found it funny, how I can be good enough for people to watch my work, and support my work, and pay for tickets, and I'm old enough to be an adult and pay taxes, but I'm not old enough to know who I should and should not have sex with," she announced. "Once again, [it's] making a young woman feel like shit for no reason. I think I did feel shit for a while about admitting that, and then I thought, 'How ridiculous is that?'"

Her statement continued: "I'm 24 and I can't choose who I love. There's a reason why I'm not with someone my age - It hasn't worked. So who are you trying to match me up with?"

Pugh also went on to talk about fame in the interview, explaining her discomfort with her celebrity at times.

"Whenever I feel like that line has been crossed in my life, whether it's paparazzi taking private moments or moments that aren't even real, or gossip channels that encourage members of the public to share private moments of famous people walking down the street, I think it's incredibly wrong," she explained."

We will continue to update this story.