When did Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff date? Relationship timeline explored amid Too Much Zev character rumors

Lena Dunham’s new Netflix show Too Much has sparked speculation that the character Jessica’s ex-boyfriend, Zev (played by Michael Zegen), may be based on her real-life ex-partner, musician and producer Jack Antonoff. Though Dunham has said Zev is not based on any one person, the similarities between the fictional breakup and her own split from Antonoff have drawn curiosity.

According to Vanity Fair, Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff first met in 2012 when they were set up on a blind date by comedian Mike Birbiglia and Antonoff’s sister, fashion designer Rachel Antonoff.

At the time, Dunham was on the rise as creator and star of HBO’s Girls, and Antonoff was a part of the band Fun. Their relationship soon became public, as they were often spotted together at events, such as the Girls 2017 premiere.

During their relationship, Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff shared snippets of their life together on social media and in interviews. They adopted a rescue dog named Lamby, but ultimately decided to rehome the dog as its behavioral problems became a source of friction. Too Much follows a similar plot where Zev forces Jess to rehome their dog Cutesie after a fight with another dog.

Dunham also documented their relationship in essays, such as a 2015 piece for The New Yorker in which she wrote that they had vowed not to tie the knot until same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide, a milestone reached that year.

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Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff's breakup explored

The couple confirmed their split in January 2018 after five and a half years together. During an interview with Cosmopolitan UK in 2020, Lena Dunham confirmed that their relationship had broken down.

“We fell in love when I was really young. I was 25. I look back and we had a great ride, we cared for each other, but you know what? We were both starting our careers and that was our true passion,” she said.

She also wrote a piece for Vogue in 2018 following her hysterectomy, in which she detailed:

“My beautiful partner, who has seen me through so much pain with compassion and care, has to be away for work, and I can feel us growing slowly apart, since life is so determined to display its full complexity right now.”

“I am surly and distant. I offer nothing. He reminds me again and again that I am still a woman and still alive, but I also know that soon—for so many reasons that have nothing to do with my uterus—we’ll slip away from each other and I will face everything I am losing in impossibly tiny steps,” she added.

Jack Antonoff moved on with model Carlotta Kohl, whom he started dating soon after the split. Lena Dunham, however, had a very public time grappling with the breakup, mentioning Antonoff in several essays and interviews. During an interview with The Cut in 2018, Dunham said:

"We haven’t talked since Jack and I broke up. It was awful, and I couldn’t do anything about it except trust that what he was saying to me was true.”

She also referenced his relationship with Kohl, saying:

“I thought I was kind of proving weird girls can have love too. And now he’s dating somebody who looks regular and normal and like girls are supposed to look.”

However, Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff have remained on good terms. During her 2020 interview with Cosmopolitan UK, she stated that he was "a dear, dear friend of mine," adding that their breakup was probably for the best. In 2023, Jack Antonoff married actress Margaret Qualley.

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While Lena Dunham insists Zev is an amalgam of many exes, Too Much echoes some of Dunham’s history with Jack Antonoff. Too Much was released on Netflix on July 10, 2025.