Normal People’s Paul Mescal opens up on secret girlfriend who is ‘lifesaver’

Paul Mescal has been navigating life in the public eye since starring in hit sexy miniseries Normal People.

The 24-year-old has been linked to a number of women - including US singer Phoebe Bridgers - ever since the show based on the Sally Rooney novel of the same name hit TV screens this year - and now he has shared that he's in a relationship.

The actor, who wishes to keep his partner's identity private, showcased his affectionate and kind nature as he showered his secret sweetheart with praise while chatting to GQ magazine.

Proving that he is smitten, he dubbed his partner "a lifesaver" and credited her for being there for him when his life was flipped upside down following his newfound fame.

The Irish native told the publication: "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.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the Primetime Emmy Award nominee thought back to when Normal People first aired propelling him into the limelight.

Reflecting on how fast his life changed since winning the role of Connell Waldron, he said: “Very, very quickly, pretty much overnight, there were people following me to the shops with cameras.

“It’s a very steep learning curve and not one I mastered immediately at all.

“It was a very interesting setting in which to learn the rules of being of public interest, for sure.

“[It was] brutal, if I am honest with you. Totally brutal.

“At first you think, ‘Oh, this is a bit glamorous,’ when someone is taking a picture of you buying ready-to-eat avocados and cigarettes at the off-licence, but soon enough you feel it begin to infiltrate your brain.”

In May, Paul admitted he was missing 'love, intimacy and people' and told that he was excited about getting back on the dating scene.

In a candid interview on the I'm Grand Mam Podcast, the Kildare native told hosts PJ Kirby and Kevin Twomey that he would most certainly be looking for love once the first lockdown lifted.

When quizzed on finding love post-lockdown, he shared: "Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to dating again. I'm trying not to think of how different it's all going to be now that people have seen Normal People. I'm trying not to think of it being weird because I think, we've been in lockdown for months and I've had no opportunity to meet somebody new or being remotely intimate with anybody".

The talented actor also revealed on the podcast that he’d used dating apps – including Hinge – when he recently moved to London but quickly decided he didn't enjoy them.

And proving he is a romantic, he told how he was looking for a relationship like his character Connell's and Marianne's in Normal People.

He told: "I want to find something similar to Connell and Marianne, but only in the last chapter in the book when they have such a deep connection emotionally and physically. That might be a dragon that I might be chasing for a long time."

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