Josh Hutcherson and Claudia Traisac met while making Escobar: Paradise Lost in 2013. Notably, The Hunger Games movies came out around the same time. Between 2012 and 2015, Hutcherson’s fame skyrocketed because he played Peeta Mellark. Now, he’s opening up about how that spotlight impacted his life, and specifically, his personal relationship as he and his girlfriend weathered “mean shit,” like rumors involving Jennifer Lawrence.
At the moment, Josh Hutcherson is having a great run, with I Love L.A. airing on the 2025 TV schedule and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 set to premiere on the 2025 movie schedule. The early 2010s were also a great run for him; however, it came with challenges. During an interview with Bustle, he was asked what it was like to get into a serious relationship during “the craziest time of your life.” In response, the actor said:
We made a movie together and fell madly in love. Then both of us were thrust into that madness, and it was hardcore. A lot of bullying and mean shit online that just broke both of our hearts. We’re sensitive, open-hearted people, so to see people saying things that are that mean was like, ‘How? Humanity, why? Why?’
It’s no secret that The Hunger Games was a phenomenon (so much so that a prequel came out in 2023, with another, Sunrise on the Reaping, set to release on the 2026 movie schedule). And with a massive franchise like that comes a lot of love, a lot of hate, and a lot of rumors.
The speculation and spread of untrue information is what really hit Hutcherson hard. He explained that people who called themselves fans would make rude comments about him and his girlfriend as rumors came up that he was in a relationship with Jennifer Lawrence. Speaking to all of that, the Bridge to Terabithia star said:
A lot of it was based in this hyper-fandom that [thought] me and Jen had a secret relationship. What’s always weird is these people would call themselves ‘Josh’s number one fan.’ But to be attacking my girlfriend who I’m madly in love with and build my world around? That’s not being a fan at all. So that shit was really, really psycho.
Now, Hutcherson and Traisac have been together for over a decade, and they’re going strong. He said that having to go through that wild rollercoaster early on helped them, because now they’re “very, very solid.”
Speaking lovingly about his girlfriend and the life they’ve created together over the last 12 years, The Beekeeper actor said:
But what I would say is, to forge our relationship and love in the throes of that? We’re very, very solid. We’ve grown up together. Sometimes people are like, ‘All your 20s you were with the same [person]?’ I’m like, ‘How amazing is that?’ All my friends that are single and going through that, I’m just like, ‘I don’t envy for a second at all.’ Trying to find love, intimacy, sexual connection? It’s the Wild West out there.
It certainly is the wild west out there, and Hutcherson has witnessed it firsthand. However, he and his girlfriend got through it, and it sounds like they’re stronger than ever.
While they’re a strong couple in their personal lives, as I mentioned, Josh Hutcherson is also having quite a moment professionally, too. I Love L.A. is currently streamable with an HBO Max subscription, and you can catch new episodes every Sunday. Meanwhile, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 will be released in theaters on December 5. And who knows, maybe, just maybe, we’ll get to see him back as Peeta in a Hunger Games movie someday…it’s certainly not impossible.
Meanwhile, I’m thrilled that he and his girlfriend weathered the waves of fame and rumors and are now standing on solid ground over a decade later.