Zach Bryan and Brianna Chickenfry's breakup drama and the aftermath explained
Brianna and me have broken up with each other, and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart.
With these words, Zach Bryan announced the end of a chapter in one of American pop culture's intriguing love stories. Barstool host Brianna LaPaglia and country and rock singer Zach Bryan captivated fans during their year-long romance. However, the whirlwind of post-breakup drama has been impossible to ignore.
Source: Getty Images
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Key takeaways
- Bryan and LaPaglia met at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2023.
- Their relationship officially began in July 2023.
- The couple dated for a little over a year and broke up on 21 October 2024.
Profile summary
| Common name | Zach Bryan | Brianna Chickenfry |
| Full name | Zachary Lane Bryan | Brianna LaPaglia |
| Nickname | Zach | Chickenfry |
| Gender | Male | Female |
| Date of birth | 2 April 1996 | 17 June 1999 |
| Age | 29 years as of 2025 | 25 years as of May 2025 |
| Zodiac sign | Aries | Gemini |
| Place of birth | Okinawa, Japan | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Current residence | Oologah, Oklahoma, United States | Manhattan, New York, United States |
| Nationality | American | American |
| Ethnicity | White | White |
| Height in centimetres | 188 | 173 |
| Height in feet | 6'2" | 5'8" |
| Weight in kilograms | 70 | 55 |
| Weight in pounds | 155 | 121 |
| Hair colour | Brown | Brown |
| Eye colour | Brown | Brown |
| Father | Dewayne Bryan | Wayne Lapaglia |
| Mother | Annette DeAnn Bryan (née Mullen) | Joyce Donahue |
| Siblings | 1 | 3 |
| Relationship status | Dating | Single |
| Partner | Hannah Duncan | - |
| Education | Oologah High School | Rockland High School,Baldwin Wallace University |
| Profession | Singer, songwriter | Podcast host, fashion model, social media influencer |
| Net worth | $1 million — $1.5 million | $1 million — $3 million |
| Social media | Instagram, Facebook, TikTok | Instagram, Threads, TikTok, X (Twitter) |
Uncovering Zach Bryan and Brianna Chickenfry's breakup drama
In October 2022, Something In The Orange singer Zach Bryan posted an Instagram story announcing the end of his relationship with Brianna Chickenfry. However, what seemed like a simple announcement quickly unravelled into something far more complicated.
In response to the announcement, an emotional Brianna responded to fans' concerns on her YouTube channel, Plan Bri Uncut. In the tearful four-minute video, she said;
I'm completely blindsided by that. I'm at the point where it's like, how can you give someone everything and love them so unconditionally through stuff that you shouldn't because you love them, and you see the good in them? Like, how can you give every ounce of yourself to someone and then, like, be discarded in a few days?
She added;
I wanted to heal privately, and I did not even know that he was going to post that. We broke up yesterday, so I was not ready to do anything publicly. I did not want it to be public, so I'm just feeling blindsided.
Why did Zach Bryan and Brianna Chickenfry break up?
Initially, both parties acknowledged that the split was mutual. However, at the time of the breakup, fan scrutiny was at its highest level, exposing cracks and inconsistencies as new developments came out.
Source: Getty Images
Brianna later spoke out about the emotional and physical abuse she endured in the relationship. Additionally, Zach cited mental and emotional struggles as the reason behind the breakup, based on his initial announcement.
What happened after Zach Bryan and Brianna Chickenfry broke up?
The public's reaction to the mounting drama after the breakup was overwhelmingly divided. A large fraction of the couple's fans were sympathetic to LaPaglia, amid suspicion that Zach had been unfaithful. The infidelity rumours were exacerbated by reports that Bryan was active on the celebrity dating app, Raya.
Additionally, after their breakup, Brianna Chickenfry accused her former beau of attempting to silence her by bribing her to sign an NDA. Here is a detailed timeline of the events after the couple's breakup.
6 November 2024: Diss track drama begins
On 6 November 2024, Brianna's colleagues, Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards, released The Smallest Man diss track. The track, directed at her ex-boyfriend, was released on Spotify and YouTube but was later taken down due to a copyright claim. A second version, released on 10 November 2024 (Dave's Version), can still be found on YouTube.
A second diss track, Country Diddy, was released on 11 November 2024. In the song, Dave Portnoy continued to defend Brianna, drawing similarities between Zach Bryan and Sean 'Diddy' Combs.
7 November 2024: Brianna speaks out on BFFs podcast
Source: Instagram
The Brianna Chickenfry and Zach Bryan saga continued to play out on the BFFs podcast. In the 7th November podcast episode, LaPaglia revealed details of a $12 million offer to stay silent, which she declined. The offer that required her to sign an NDA included a house and a flat in New York.
While describing the emotional abuse she endured in the relationship, Brianna told her colleagues;
The last year of my life has been the hardest year of my life. Dealing with the abuse from this dude, and even in last week's episode. I'm still scared right now because my brain's been rewired like I'm scared to make him mad, and last week I didn't want to talk about it because I was scared.
10 November 2024: Stumpy the cat and post-breakup fallout
Source: Twitter
In March 2024, Brianna released a TikTok video updating her fans on their newest addition to the family, a cat named Stump or Stumpy. Zach and Brianna adopted the feral cat after they found him in a tree stump in Oklahoma.
Their split caused a divide in their newly formed family, a tough change for the animals and Brianna. After the breakup, she accused Zach Bryan of taking Stump out of spite, even though he did not like cats.
9 January 2025: Zach Bryan breaks his silence
At the height of the messy breakup, Zach finally publicly defended himself against the allegations levelled against him. In a series of Instagram stories and comments posted in January 2025, he said,
I’m not asking for sympathy, but going for my friends is so low and so messed up. Apparently, I’ve had four different girlfriends in like two weeks, meanwhile, my friends and I are just laughing and hanging out like we always have.
Other comments in his angry tirade read;
Go give your attention and time to the literal city burning down, and stop being so sad and fickle and childish through screens. No matter how bad a person you think I am, go ahead and come for me. I can take all the hatred because I’m not a child.
15 January 2025: Brianna lands on the Sports Illustrated cover
Source: Getty Images
Podcaster Brianna LaPaglia started her year with a bang, making the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s January issue. Photographed by Katherine Goguen in La Quinta, California, the cover marked a full-circle moment for LaPaglia, who had been banned from modelling by Zach.
In May 2024, she was set to host the red carpet for the 60th anniversary celebration of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. However, at the last minute, Bryan talked her out of doing it, terming it as trashy and off-brand for her.
FAQs
- Who is Zach Bryan? He is an American country and rock singer and songwriter.
- Who is Brianna Chickenfry? She is an American podcast host and social media personality.
- What is Brianna Chickenfry's real name? Her real name is Brianna LaPaglia.
- Why is Brianna called Chickenfry? The name Chickenfry came from a Vine skit she did early in her career.
- How did Zach Bryan and Brianna Chickenfry meet? The estranged couple met at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2023.
- When did Zach Bryan and Brianna Chickenfry start dating? Their relationship officially began in July 2023.
- How long did Zach Bryan and Brianna date? The couple dated for a little over a year.
- Were Zach Bryan Brianna Chickenfry engaged? No.
- Are Brianna Chickenfry and Zach Bryan still together? No. The couple broke up on 21 October 2024
- Who is Brianna Chickenfry's boyfriend now? The Barstool podcast host is currently single.
- Is Brianna Chickenfry dating West Wilson? No. West Wilson denied dating Brianna during a 2025 People interview.
Zach Bryan and Brianna Chickenfry have been embroiled in an intriguing yet heartbreaking internet drama since 2023. The couple's relationship played out in front of fans from start to finish. However, the breakdown of the relationship was nothing fans expected.
Legit.ng has recently published Brianna LaPaglia's biography. Brianna Chickenfry, as she is more famously known, is a fast-rising media personality and social media influencer.
Brianna LaPaglia's rise to global stardom began with a Vine, a now-defunct video-sharing site. Read on and find out all about her personal life, rise to fame and career as Barstool's podcast co-host.
Source: Legit.ng
