Zach Braff forced to deny he’s dating an AI chatbot girlfriend
Actor Zach Braff has fiercely hit back at rumours he has an AI girlfriend.
The Scrubs star, 50, was first linked to such speculation several months ago when the hot topic was discussed by comedians Jenny Slate, Max Silvestri, and Gabe Liedman on their podcast, I Need You Guys.
While Braff’s name was not mentioned explicitly, the trio spoke of an A-list TV actor who ‘is currently in a romantic relationship with his AI chatbot’ and ‘brings the chatbot places’ with him.
As the first to obtain the so-called scoop, Silvestri was probed by the others on how well-known the celebrity was and whether others around him think the relationship is ‘weird’.
‘From my understanding, the little info I’ve heard, there is a self-awareness, but in a “Sorry that you’re not on board with the future” way,’ Silvestri explained.
He then texted his co-hosts to reveal the person in question’s name, causing them to burst out laughing and declare, ‘We can’t put this on our podcast.’
‘It’s so funny… but it’s so good,’ one reacted.
Soon enough, Braff’s name entered the comments section of the clip shared on TikTok as viewers speculated about who it could be.
And now, the man himself has responded, in disbelief that he even had to address it at all.
Taking to his Instagram Story, Braff shared screenshots of the podcast and wrote: ‘I’m not dating a chatbot. I can’t believe I have to type these words.’
He added that he’s ‘not sure’ where the rumour originated from but explained that it is, in fact, ‘a storyline in an upcoming ep of Scrubs,’ in which he plays John Michael ‘J.D.’ Dorian.
‘Maybe it came from that?’, he pondered. ‘But not from me.’
Braff signed off: ‘Love, the guy not dating his chatbot. Please update all gossip sites.’
In a follow-up post, the TV star said he had ‘no idea’ that the three comedians were ‘the origin’ of the story because he is ‘not on TikTok’.
‘I feel like now is a good time to be kind to people,’ he concluded.
Braff first appeared in Scrubs from 2001 to 2010 and reprised his role in the reboot this year.
The medical comedy series was his first major TV role and has seen him nominated for three Golden Globes and an Emmy. He’s also directed many episodes, including the 100th special.
With regards to his personal life, Braff, whose other acting credits include The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000), The Ex (2006), and In Dubious Battle (2016), made headlines with his last public relationship.
Between 2019 and 2022, he dated actress Florence Pugh, which generated controversy due to their 21-year age gap.
Braff, who directed Pugh, 30, in In the Time it Takes to Get There (2019) and A Good Person (2023), is said to have ended things with the actress due to intense public scrutiny and online backlash.
Speaking in 2022 about the breakup, Pugh told Harper’s Bazaar: ‘We’ve been trying to do this separation without the world knowing, because it’s been a relationship that everybody has an opinion on.
‘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.’
The Don’t Worry Darling lead confronted critics once before via an Instagram video.
She told her followers directly in April 2020: ‘I am 24 years old. I do not need you to tell me who I should and should not love.
‘And I would never in my life ever, ever tell anyone who they can and cannot love. It is not your place. And really, it has nothing to do with you.
‘So if those rules are something that you do not like, then please unfollow me because the abuse that you throw at him is abuse that you’re throwing at me.’
She and Braff remained on friendly terms after splitting, as he continued singing her praises.
‘It’s pretty clear across the world that I’m not biased when I say that she is one of the finest actresses working today,’ Braff said in December 2023.
‘She’s just extraordinary, and I just feel so lucky that I got to have her be my leading lady.’
Since parting ways with Pugh, Braff has been linked to singer Frances Whitney, 26.
His other exes include actress-singer Mandy Moore, Unreal star Shiri Appleby, and model Taylor Bagley.
Right now, he is believed to be single, as hinted at by his longtime friend Donald Faison in People’s Sexiest Man Alive issue 2025.
‘This is a single man who is very, very handsome,’ he teased in autumn. ‘Someone out there is going to see this [issue] and be like, “What a handsome young man this is!”‘
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