Paul Mescal shares mom’s reaction to those viral one-night stand rumors

Paul Mescal has learned to laugh off gossip about his dating life — but the same can’t be said for his mom.

While speaking to GQ for their November 2024 cover story, the “Gladiator II” star was asked about the TikTok rumors that he would have a one-night stand with a woman, go on a walk with her and then sprint away while she was distracted.

Although Mescal called the rumors “categorically untrue,” he and his siblings found the whole thing “hilarious.”

“We were looking at the videos and we were pissing ourselves at it,” he told the outlet, noting it was around the holidays and they all sat around “laughing” for ages.

Even during his interview months later, the 28-year-old turned red and had a good belly laugh about the ordeal.

However, his mom, Dearbhla Mescal, didn’t take the situation as lightly as her children.

“The one thing that upset me was that I was in the kitchen, I remember my mum looking at the videos and she was getting upset,” he recalled. “Isn’t that devastating?”

MescaI acknowledged that it was only “funny” to him and his siblings because they “know that this is the way the internet works” — but his mom didn’t have the same understanding.

“If it was true, it’d be f—king bad, but as a rumor, it’s funny,” he continued. “Then I was like, Oh, if you’re a mother, her impulse is to come out and be like, ‘He wouldn’t do this.’”

Although the “All of Us Strangers” actor took the silly rumor in good stride, he prefers to keep his private life — especially his romantic relationships — out of the public eye.

“I’ve learned that there’s certain lines in the sand now for me that just are going to be impenetrable for the benefit of my own sanity, but also the benefit of my work,” he explained.

“Because I think if you don’t have those boundaries up in terms of lines in the sand in regards to your private life, people know way too much about you and then they can’t invest in the imagined landscape of your character because they know what your favorite thing to eat for breakfast is,” he continued.

The Irish actor’s meteoric rise to fame began in 2020 after starring in “Normal People,” which garnered him an Emmy nomination and, in turn, a much more public life.

“I mean, the speculation has been kind of mad for the last x amount of years,” Paul told the outlet.

“I’m not comfortable inviting any access into that part of my life. How I am in my private life is so precious to me because I get very little of it, and it might be public interest, but it’s not public-obligated information.”

Paul began dating Phoebe Bridgers in the summer of 2020 but they quietly split towards the end of 2022.

He was most recently linked to singer Gracie Abrams. However, an insider told People in August 2024 they were still in the “early stages.”