The Person Paul Mescal Was Recently Spotted ‘Kissing a Lot’ Is His Ex-Fiance’s Friend
He earned heartthrob status in the TV adaptation of Normal People and ever since, we’ve been wondering who Paul Mescal’s girlfriend is—mostly because we want to know if he’s single and if we have a chance ourselves. It’s a long shot, we know.
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Mescal was born on 2 February 1996 in Maynooth, Ireland. After his early years in theater, his breakout role came in Normal People, which is based on Sally Rooney’s 2018 book of the same title. He starred as Connell Waldron opposite Daisy Edgar Jones in the character of Marianne Sheridan); two high school friends from the same small town in Ireland, on their will-they, won’t-they love story. In real life, Paul Mescal’s love life is just as interesting, if not more.
Paul Mescal’s girlfriend and dating history
Gracie Abrams (2024)
In August 2024, Mescal was spotted kissing Gracie Abrams—they were “kissing a lot” during an outing in London, according to the Daily Mail. It comes after she allegedly wrote a song about him, “Normal Thing,” where she sings about falling in love with “movie stars.” Abrams is friends with Bridgers, as confirmed by a fan account on Instagram that shared a photo of them hugging at the Grammys.
Phoebe Bridgers (2020-2022)
Phoebe Waller Bridgers and Paul Mescal were romantically linked beginning in 2020. Their connection began on social media, with a series of flirty X (formerly Twitter) exchanges. “finished normal people and now I’m sad and horny oh wait,” she said. He replied: “I’m officially dead,” to which she said: “nooo don’t die your so talented aha”.
In June that same year, she told NME that “the cute boy”, (meaning Mescal), follows her on Instagram and adds: “I got a little pitter-patter in my heart when I saw.” And then, in November 2021, he told GQ that his unnamed “girlfriend” had helped him get through the worst of COVID lockdowns. “To have someone to lean on through such a mad, mad time has been invaluable. Really, I don’t know where I’d be without her,” he said.
It wouldn’t be until a year later, November 2021, that they made their first public appearance as a couple, walking the red carpet at the LACMA Art + Film Gala. In May 2022, they walked the Met Gala red carpet together and posed lovingly with each other. Neither spoke publicly about the breakup, but Mescal told Vanity Fair in February 2023 that he was disappointed to read gossip sites speculating on his relationship status.
“Sometimes I can drown it out and then other times it makes me really mad and upset,” he said. “People are going to write and say things because there’s a certain interest with any person who’s in the public eye in how that person lives their life, and who they’re living up with, and what they’re doing and how they’re going about doing it,” he added. “And look, a lot of the time people are really kind about their support for me. That’s my predominant experience.”
In September 2023, Bridgers’ band boygenius released a song called “Revolution 0” (original title “Paul is Dead”, a reference to the Beatles conspiracy), but she told Rolling Stone, was about “falling in love online”. In an interview with Esquire, he again refused to comment on his breakup but revealed that his All of Us Strangers co-star Andrew Scott gave him some advice. “The only thing you’re left with after love is grief. Which is, like, a bleak thing, but I think it’s just a fact,” he recalled.
Daisy Edgar-Jones (2020)
Because of their on-screen chemistry, everyone thought that Paul Mescal and his Normal People co-star Daisy Edgar Jones were dating, but the truth is, they’re just really great actors.
As reported by Standard U.K., Edgar-Jones had a boyfriend: Game of Thrones actor Tom Varey at the time (who played Lord Clery Cerwyn), who she lives with in their home in Wood Green, London. Mescal may also be in a relationship. Standard U.K. reported that he lives with actress India Mullen, who plays Marianne’s friend Peggy in Normal People, in their home in Clapton, London. While the outlet didn’t confirm that the two are in a relationship, their Instagram likes hint that they could be more than friends.
The actress told Standard U.K. that it was a struggle for her boyfriend to watch her and Mescal’s sex scenes. “He was gritting his teeth [during the sex scenes] but at least he’s seen it now,” she said. “It’s my grandparents I’m most worried about.”
While she and Varey have since broken up, she’s apparently found new love with a photographer, Ben Seed, who’s the ex-boyfriend of fellow actress Anya Taylor-Joy.
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