He's an Internet boyfriend, but is Paul Mescal dating anyone IRL?
The 27-year-old Irish actor has become one of Hollywood's most in-demand names after his breakthrough performance as Connell Waldron in the BBC/Hulu adaptation of Sally Rooney's bestselling novel, Normal People. Since then he's been nominated for an Oscar for his heartbreaking turn in Aftersun and will next be seen in high-profile flicks like the sci-fi thriller Foe opposite Saoirse Ronan and as the lead of the big Gladiator sequel.
But while we've got plenty of scoop on the actor's professional business, it's his personal dealings that fans are curious about. What is the Maynooth-born hunk's current relationship status? We dig into all of the romantic rumors.
Who is Paul Mescal dating?
At the moment, Paul Mescal is single—at least publicly. It's not exactly surprising that the actor would want to keep his current relationship status under wraps, given how scrutinized his previous engagement and subsequent break-up with singer Phoebe Bridgers were.
“I definitely feel the temptation to say the status of my whatever—that will always be there,” the actor told Vanity Fair in February. “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.’”
A deep dive into those Paul Mescal romance rumors
1. Paul Mescal and Keelin Moncrieff
You always have to take a blind item with a grain of salt, but gossip queen DeuxMoi is usually on the money when it comes to celebrity dating news. In an August blind item, the social media account posted the following spotting: "Saw Paul Mescal looking cosy in Luckys Meath Street, Dublin with Irish influencer Keelin Moncrieff. She has now unfollowed her boyfriend Jay too."
So who is Keelin Moncrieff? She's a 24-year-old social media influencer hailing from Dublin, who began on Snapchat before moving platforms to Youtube. She co-hosts the podcast Same But Different, which tackles everything from toxic friendships to period sex.
2. Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones
Romance rumors have swirled for years between the two Normal People co-stars, who have parlayed their acclaimed performances in the Hulu drama into a lasting bond.
When Mescal won a BAFTA for his role as Connell in the series in 2021, he dedicated the award to Edgar-Jones: “I want to dedicate this to Daisy, who is the best scene partner and one of the best people I know.”
The actress has responded in kind, calling Mescal a "friend for life" since their meeting on the show, and the two have regularly been seen out and about together, like when they adorably dressed up as Fleabag and Hot Priest for Halloween last year.
However, any romantic undertones to their friendship are seemingly just fans' wishful thinking.
3. Paul Mescal and Phoebe Waller-Bridge
paul mescal and phoebe waller-bridge in london pic.twitter.com/muGlrHhiPXAugust 13, 2023
Not to be confused with Mescal's famous musician ex, Phoebe Waller-Bridge—the brilliant English actress-writer behind Fleabag, Killing Eve and Crashing, among others—was spotted sharing a cigarette and a laugh with Mescal outside London's National Theatre on Wednesday, August 9 after taking in a performance of Lucy Prebble's play The Effect.
However, it's very doubtful anything romantic is going on between these two: Waller-Bridge has been in a relationship with Irish-English playwright Martin McDonagh since 2017, so this is likely just a case of two celebrity friends running into each other. Plus, they have a close buddy in common: actor Andrew Scott, who famously portrayed Hot Priest in Fleabag and will star opposite Mescal in Andrew Haigh’s upcoming adaptation of the 1987 Taichi Yamada novel Strangers.
4. Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan
News of this talented Irish twosome portraying husband and wife onscreen—in the upcoming science fiction thriller Foe—had fans riled up on social media, but any romance between these two will be saved for the camera, as Saoirse Ronan has been dating Scottish actor Jack Lowden since 2020.
Ronan did gush over her screen partner in his Harper’s Bazaar September 2023 cover story. “The first time I saw Paul act was in a commercial for Denny’s sausages in Ireland,” she told the outlet. “He’ll kill me for mentioning it, but—I’m not actually joking—that was the first time I went, ‘Oh, who’s that guy? He’s really good.’”
