Paul Mescal Sounds Off on Phoebe Bridgers Breakup Rumors

The Oscar nominee was asked about the split after Bridgers confirmed they are no longer engaged.

Phoebe Bridgers and Paul Mescal reportedly called off their engagement the end of 2022, with rumors circulating that Bridgers had begun dating Bo Burnham. Since then, there’s been plenty of speculation as to what’s been going on in Mescal’s love life.

In a chat with Vanity Fair, the Oscar nominee was asked how he deals with fans speculating about his relationship status. Mescal opted to not discuss the rumored split with the musician, instead reflecting on how much he values his privacy now.

“When Normal People came out, I was very forthright in interviews, and it didn’t actually serve me. But the temptation still exists to be like, ‘Shut the f--k up. This is my life. This is what’s going on. Or this is what's not going on,’” he explained. “But moving forward as much as I can, that’s going to be my life that is private. That’s a difficult thing to achieve. But giving strangers an answer about my life doesn’t actually help me. It’s like a quick boost of serotonin, being like, ‘I’ve said what I need to say.’ And then it’s just Twitter fodder.”

He also opened up about the lack of privacy that came with fame post-Normal People and his decision to not care how he’s portrayed by tabloids while focusing on his career.

“I definitely don’t feel the obligation to impress people with a false version of myself. I’m going to live my life and if people want to judge me for anything at any point I’m pretty secure with what I do,” said Mescal. “Because who cares? Who actually cares who’s doing what and who they’re doing it with? Who f--king cares? I’m jealous of musicians with that. I feel like musicians can be a little bit more like rock stars. They get away with more.”

As for Bridgers, she has decided to also keep mum on details surrounding her relationship status, but disclosed to Rolling Stone in a recent profile that she is no longer engaged.