Can You Be Friends With Your Ex? (Zach Braff & Florence Pugh)

Is there a recipe for a healthy relationship with your ex? Zach Braff wished Florence Pugh a ‘happy birthday’ yesterday, almost a year after the pair separated. Flo and Braff quietly separated back in 2022 after 3 years together and for her birthday, he shared a picture of her above the hollywood sign writing ‘happy birthday, legend’. And Braff’s not wrong. She is a legend. But is it really possible to have a healthy relationship with your ex? We’re obviously not talking about exes that are covered in red flags. Let’s put that out there first. But if you really believe that you are better off as friends, or maybe had a friendship before your romance, there are recommended ways to go about building a healthy friendship. According to psychotherapist, Dr Barton Goldsmith, time and space is your first step. Simply, you can’t be good exes until both of you have embraced the end of your romantic relationship. From there, making sure you are both actually ready to approach a friendship and truly respect one another is crucial. Balance is also a priority. For most people, an ex who is present but not active in your day-to-day is usually the sweet spot (congratulating you on a promotion, wishing each other happy birthday…) So maybe it is possible, and maybe Zach and Flo are here to break the ex protocol… What do you think? Is it possible to have a healthy relationship with your ex? Or is it best to just Thank U, Next?