Since 2022, country music star Zach Bryan has been in a pretty public relationship with influencer Brianna LaPaglia, more well-known as Brianna Chickenfry. Zach Bryan rose to fame in 2019 with his debut album DeAnn, and he is admired for his heartfelt songwriting and his unique blend of country and folk music. LaPaglia gained fame in 2020 on social media due to her funny and relatable posts. Soon after in 2021, LaPaglia joined the BFFs Podcast as a host alongside Dave Portney and Josh Richards.
On October 22, Bryan went on his Instagram story to share that the two had decided to break up. He wrote, “Brianna and I have broken up with each other, and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart. She has loved me unconditionally for a very long time and for that, I’ll always thank her.” In response to Bryan, LaPagalia wrote on her Instagram story, “I’m feeling really blindsided right now. Gonna hop off social media and attempt to heal privately, when I’m ready I’ll be back and ready to talk.” LaPaglia also posted a YouTube video that same day. She talked about how they had only broken up one day before and that Bryan hadn’t warned her that he would bring it to social media. She said she wished they could’ve waited so she had some time to heal before.
Millbrook students have given their thoughts on this breakup. Senior Lauren Milne says, “I feel really sad for Brianna but I am still going to listen to Zach Bryan.” Senior Harris Tullous also stated “I’m a really big Zach Bryan fan, but I’m very sad and disappointed by his actions.”
Soon after the breakup, LaPaglia’s BFF’s co-hosts Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards decided to drop a diss track on Bryan titled “Smallest Man.” Not even a day later, the song disappeared from YouTube and Spotify. According to an article Barstool Sports released, Bryan and Warner Music allegedly had it taken down due to copyright infringement. In response, Portnoy released another diss track called “Country Diddy,” which talked about Bryan’s sex trafficking accusations, which remained up unlike the other song.
On November 13, LaPaglia’s podcast dropped a new episode about the drama. She recounts moments from their relationship. LaPaglia also mentioned that Bryan offered her a $12 million NDA in exchange for her remaining silent about their relationship. She declined the offer because, “I would’ve had to sign away all of my experiences, everything that I am away to this person and they would’ve been monitoring everything that I do.” One specific moment she touches on was when he did not approve of the outfit she wore at the Golden Globes. He “smashed” her phone and unfollowed her on all social media platforms. She stated, “Anything good I did for me, he made sure to ruin it for me.”
She also recounted several troubling incidents with Bryan. One involved him screaming at her friends and making them cry on her birthday. Another time, Bryan allegedly tried to manipulate her into quitting Barstool by offering to double their offer, claiming she deserved more and was “better” than that environment. He repeatedly told her, “You’re destined for so much more.” Additionally, she shared an episode where Bryan yelled at her for singing Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night,” upset that she was singing another man’s song under his roof.
LaPaglia also said that Bryan remained unfaithful throughout their entire relationship. “Been finding out he was cheating the whole time lol. The week he showed me my engagement ring he was DMing girls hahahha.” Zach Bryan has not released any type of response to his allegations.