Zach Bryan and Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia were together for a little over a year before their relationship took a shocking turn.
In October 2024, Bryan posted a statement on social media revealing that he and LaPaglia had split. (The pair went public with their relationship in July 2023.)
“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,” Bryan wrote via Instagram. “I’ve had an incredibly hard year personally and struggled through some pretty severe things. I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go out different ways. I am not perfect and never will be.”
LaPaglia, for her part, stated that she was “blindsided” by their breakup in an Instagram Story of her own. The Barstool Sports personality was quick to upload a YouTube video further discussing the break up — and asking for privacy as she navigates her new normal.
“I’ve been crying for, like, five days straight,” LaPaglia said through tears. “I’m at the point where it’s, like, how can you give someone everything and, like, love them so unconditionally through stuff that you shouldn’t.”
The podcast host said that she wanted to “heal privately” and Bryan did not warn her about the Instagram breakup announcement. “I wasn’t ready to do anything publicly,” she added. “I’m going to be OK. I’m going to be fine. I’m just obviously really, really hurt right now.”
Prior to their split, the pair appeared to have a strong romance that included consistent, equal support. Keep scrolling for a breakdown of Bryan and LaPaglia’s strongest moments from their relationship:
The Timeline of Their Relationship
LaPaglia was forced to reveal the timeline of her and Bryan’s relationship in August 2023, after rumors started spreading that their budding romance overlapped with each of their past relationships.
They first met at the 2023 ACM Awards in May of that year — LaPaglia and Bryan were both in other relationships at the time. The following month, LaPaglia went on stage with Bryan to sing “Revival” when he played in New York. According to LaPaglia, their romance started in July 2023.
During an August 2023 episode of “BFFs” podcast, Bryan made a brief appearance onscreen, waving to LaPaglia’s cohosts Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards.
Taking the Stage
LaPaglia traveled with Bryan on his Quittin’ Time Tour throughout 2024, and when he had no celebrity guests to join him on stage for “Revival,” the final song of the show, she was always there to be by his side.
The Song ‘28’
Bryan released a song titled “28” on his Great American Bar Scene album in July 2024. The track appears to be about LaPaglia, as it opens with a reference to meeting her family in Boston, where she’s from. “How lucky are we?” is also a lyric in the song, which is something that LaPaglia has said on various occasions. She also has a tattoo of the saying.
A Music Video Moment
When Bryan released his “Oak Island” music video in September 2024, LaPaglia was credited as a writer.
The Taylor Swift and Kanye West of It All
Bryan apologized after tweeting “Kanye > Taylor… Who’s with me” in September 2024 — and LaPaglia was quick to stick up for her man at the time.
She claimed that he did not “understand the weight of what Kanye did to Taylor” throughout her career. “He didn’t know the backstory of the Kanye/Taylor lore,” LaPaglia said on the “BFFs” podcast in October 2024.
The Breakup Rumors
LaPaglia said she was “taking the brunt” of all the “personal s—” that Bryan was going through in October 2024.
“We don’t post [about] each other for a week,” she said during the same “BFFs” podcast episode. “It took the internet by storm but he’s going through a lot of personal stuff.”