Paul Mescal says it was ‘nerve-racking’ going public with Phoebe Bridgers

‘Oh f***, does that mean that we are public property?’

Kate Ng
Tuesday 08 November 2022 11:49 GMT
Comments
Paul Mescal says he's worried Instagram account for his chain more popular than his character

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Paul Mescal has opened up about how “nerve-racking” it was to make his relationship with Phoebe Bridgers public knowledge.

The Normal People star has been dating the Californian singer since 2020, after Bridgers tweeted about being “sad and horny” after watching the BBC mini-series.

Mescal, 26, and Bridgers, 28, later confirmed their relationship in November 2021 when they made their first appearance as a couple at the 2021 LACMA Art + Film Gala.

But Mescal said that going public made him concerned that people may think of them as “property”.

“That was the anxiety of like, ‘Oh f***, does that mean that we are public property?” he said in an interview with GQ magazine, published on Tuesday (8 November).

“And I think it’s like, no, that’s what couples choose to do. It’s just how I choose to operate.”

The Aftersun star said he has “struck a happy medium” with having “a public relationship be private, on my terms”.

“That’s satisfying because it just means you’re not travelling around under the cover of night, trying to hide your movements from the world,” he told the magazine.

“Nor will I ever truly go into depth with anybody about what that relationship means to me or what the inner life of that relationship is.”

Over the weekend, Mescal and Bridger’s relationship sent fans into a spiral after an interview with the actor that was published in the Guardian on Sunday (6 November) reported that the pair were engaged.

However, the publication updated the profile shortly after to say the couple are “reported to be engaged”.

Fans who read the interview before it was updated had mixed feelings about the reported engagement, which has not been confirmed by either Mescal or Bridgers.

Some joked that the news left them “in mourning”, while others were inspired by the couple’s modern love story as it began on social media during the Covid lockdown.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in