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Zach Bryan Defends Himself After Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia Breakup
Strained words come on out of a grown man's mouth when his mind's broke, but when a woman's heart breaks...
The words can get pretty pointed.
And the public portion of Zach Bryan's breakup with Brianna LaPaglia had already begun on a sour note, when she followed his Oct. 22 Instagram Story split statement with her own post noting that she was "feeling really blindsided" and needed to "hop off social media" while she healed.
Brianna hopped over to YouTube to share her feelings before taking a brief break from her socials. But the floor remained mostly her for months, with Zach perhaps sub-posting on Instagram but not expressly responding to anything his ex's allies had to say until his takes started pouring forth Jan. 9.
Addressing "couch warriors attacking and belittling my friends," the country artist posted to his Instagram Story, "Everyone wonders why I quit touring and don't want to be attached to music anymore. Meanwhile you're calling my friends ugly and harassing them?"
For the record, Zach is still very attached to music and will be headlining the 2025 Stagecoach Music Festival on April 25. But the influencer known as Brianna Chickenfry to her 2.2 million TikTok followers doeshave a wide reach.
Of course, the PlanBri Uncut podcast host's decision to keep telling her story as she saw fit was hardly out of character—or unwelcome to her online audience that always wants to know more.
When Brianna confirmed on her podcast in July 2023 that she was dating the singer, she said it was basically a must-mention.
YouTube/ Plan Bri Uncut
"Everyone on the Internet is FBI agents," she toldPeople a month later, "so they figured everything out and I was like, 'I need to get ahead of it, I need to say what's right, what's real and what's true,' so I did it on my podcast."
First item of business: Tell her listeners that both she and Zach were in respective relationships when they met at the 2023 ACM Awards in May, but they were both single by the time he slid into her DMs in late June.
“It’s fun, it's casual," Brianna said on the revelatory podcast, explaining that she "just wanted to address it because the whole Internet is freaking the f--k out and people are doing s-t."
John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
The pair chugged along, making their red carpet debut as a couple when Zach brought Brianna to the 2024 Grammys in February. The 28-year-old won for the first time in four nominations, Best Country Duo/Group Performance with Kacey Musgraves for "I Remember Everything."
In May, Brianna shared that they'd been in "a traumatizing side-by-side car crash" while on the road during Zach's The Quittin' Time Tour, and that the singer needed stitches to close up "a huge gash."
Soon after, he shared a sweet message for his girlfriend on Instagram Story, writing, "You're my muse Brianna and I don't understand how the hell you hold it together when people around you can't. Thank you forever and always no matter what." He called her "the most loving and supportive woman on the planet."
Months later, however, he may have forgotten to check with her before he let the world know they were no longer together.
As Brianna's public breakup postmortem continues, here's a guide to how it's gone down:
YouTube/ Plan Bri Uncut
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Instagram/Brianna LaPaglia
Instagram/Brianna LaPaglia
Plan Bri Uncut/YouTube
Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Todd Williamson/NBC via Getty Images
Dave Portnoy/Instagram
Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty Images
Brianna LaPaglia/Instagram
Brianna LaPaglia/Instagram
Brianna LaPaglia/TikTok
TikTok/Brianna Chickenfry
Scott Legato/Getty Images
Dave Portnoy/Instagram
TikTok / Brianna LaPaglia
TikTok/Brianna Chickenfry
Instagram/Brianna LaPaglia
Keith Griner/Getty Images
Brianna LaPaglia/Instagram
(Originally published Nov. 9, 2024, at 5 a.m. PT)