Zach Bryan and Brianna Chickenfry’s breakup drama, explained

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Zach Bryan and Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia have split after more than a year of dating… but it looks like she wasn’t ready for us to know. On October 22, Bryan wrote in an Instagram Story that he has “personally had an incredibly difficult year and has struggled through some pretty serious things,” explaining that he “thought it would be helpful for both of us to find our own paths.” to go.’ In a YouTube video posted later that day, LaPaglia said the relationship had only just ended the day before, claiming Bryan had not called or texted her to let her know he was going public with the news . “I wanted to get hurt and lie in bed for a week, you know?” she said, adding that she felt “blindsided.” Below, what you need to know, including how this couple met and why people bring up Raya.

Bryan is a 28-year-old country singer-songwriter who released his fifth album, The great American bar scenein July. You might also recognize him because he pissed off a bunch of Swifties last month by comparing her to Kanye in what he said was a drunken tweet about their discography.

LaPaglia, known online as Brianna Chickenfry due to a viral Vine, is an influencer and Barstool Sports podcaster. The 25 year old co-hosts the BFFs podcast with Barstool founder Dave Portnoy (who made his loyalty clear with a post dedicating Taylor Swift’s song “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” to LaPaglia after the split was made public).

Bryan and LaPaglia met at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2023. She later attended one of his concerts and was invited on stage along with her other performers. BFFs co-host, Josh Richards. In June, LaPaglia’s Plan Bri Uncut podcast released an episode titled “Eat the Rich (Except Zach Bryan).” Bryan then went into her DMs and they started “chatting,” LaPaglia later recalled. She officially confirmed the relationship in July.

Bryan did not immediately share a reason for the split in his October 22 Instagram Story. His statement expressed “love and respect” for LaPaglia and suggested he is “not perfect,” adding that he is sorry to everyone he has let down. “I have failed people who love me, especially myself,” he concluded.

In an Oct. 22 YouTube video titled “I love you guys, I’ll be back soon,” she noted that the breakup happened on Oct. 21 (the same day she posted a cryptic note on Instagram about how “life goes on even if you don’t want it”). LaPaglia, who said she had been “crying for five days,” wondered through tears how you can love someone “unconditionally, by doing things you shouldn’t do” and then “thrown away within a few days.” become’. She added that she will share the details of what happened later; in an Instagram story, she similarly said she will “step off social media for a while and try to heal privately,” then return once she’s “ready to talk.”

The day before the split was confirmed, a Reddit user claimed that Bryan had appeared on the members-only dating app Raya. Given the timeline LaPaglia has outlined, the internet has been busy entertaining the possibility that Bryan started swiping immediately after the breakup. An unnamed source has now claimed this We weekly that the singer was actually on dating apps during the day their relationship, and that someone sent LaPaglia his Raya profile. According to the source, Bryan denied the allegations of infidelity but agreed that they should split.