- Paul Mescal is an Irish actor who rose to fame in 2020 after he appeared in ‘Normal People’
- Paul has been with Phoebe Bridgers since mid-2020
- Fans are worried Paul and Phoebe broke up after she sang about being alone in a new song with SZA
- Paul met with Angelina Jolie in London at the start of 2023, sparking dating speculation
Paul Mescal‘s career has skyrocketed since he landed the role of Connell in BBC’s drama Normal People, which debuted in 2020. The 26-year-old Irish actor’s love life also took a turn uphill in 2020: he began dating American singer-songwriter, Phoebe Bridgers. As Paul became more of a household name, interest in his personal life began to rise. So, who has Paul Mescal dated? Read on to learn about his relationship with Phoebe, 28, and even the rumors that he went on a date with Angelina Jolie.
Paul Mescal and Phoebe Bridgers
Because Paul is fairly new to Hollywood and is not very active on social media, little is known about his personal life before 2020. Luckily, he was active on Twitter in 2020, because that is exactly how he and the “Sidelines” singer met. Phoebe watched Normal People that spring and took to Twitter to confess how attracted she was to Paul. “finished normal people and now I’m sad and horny oh wait,” she wrote. Paul saw her tweet and responded, “I’m officially dead.” Excited by Paul’s comment, she responded with a flirtatious tweet: “nooo don’t die your so talented aha”.
I'm officially dead.
— Paul Mescal (@mescal_paul) May 12, 2020
The pair quickly became acquainted, and just two weeks later, they hosted an Instagram Live for Wonderland Magazine. The Live session served as their first time meeting over video call and was a 20-minute-long flirt session filled with smiles and blushing. In fact, at one point, Paul told Phoebe he loves her music, to which she responded, “Well, that makes me blush.” Aw!
The “Motion Sickness” singer then called Paul “cute” in a June chat with NME and revealed he followed her on Instagram. “I got a little pitter-patter in my heart when I saw,” she gushed. One month later, a cafe in Ireland called Lemon Tree Cafe claimed the pair had met face-to-face and enjoyed a treat together. By November, Paul and Phoebe were official. Without naming Phoebe, he told GQ magazine that having a significant other during the pandemic had been a “lifesaver.” He explained, “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.” The next month, Phoebe and Paul starred in the former’s music video for “Savior Complex”.
The adorable couple made their red carpet debut at the LACMA Art + Film Gala in Nov. 2021 and went Instagram official in Dec. 2021. They appeared to be going strong in 2022 as well, as they walked the Met Gala red carpet together in May and Paul appeared in the singer’s “Sidelines” music video in June. Paul and Phoebe were as happy as can be through the fall as well, as Phoebe revealed Paul took the Instagram photos she shared in Sept. 2020 (seen here). The snaps were from the set of Phoebe and The 1975‘s music video for “I’m In Love With You”.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXT8ITIM11H/
However, fans became concerned about the status of the couple when Phoebe sang a verse in SZA‘s song, “Ghost in the Machine,” which was released in Dec. 2022. “You said all of my friends are on my payroll/You’re not wrong, you’re an as*****,” she sings. “Screaming at you in the Ludlow/I was yours for free.” Later on in her verse, she sings about being alone at the “airport bar or hotel lobby.” The lyrics were written just weeks before the song was released, according to her Dec. 2022 interview with NME. Phoebe nor Paul has spoken of a breakup at the time of this writing, and photos of them still appear on the singer’s Instagram page.
Paul Mescal and Angelina Jolie
Fans were floored when Angelina Jolie, 47, was photographed meeting with Paul Mescal for coffee in London amid his and Phoebe’s breakup rumors. However, an insider close to Paul quickly shut any and all dating rumors down. The Maleficent actress “wanted to meet Paul after she and Shiloh enjoyed watching his play, [A Streetcar Named Desire],” the person told Us Weekly in mid-January. Angie’s daughter, Shiloh, 16, “loved” meeting Paul, and the outing “was a friendly coffee and nothing more than that,” according to the source.