Who is Brianna Chickenfry LaPaglia? Her response to Zach Bryan breakup

On Tuesday, country singer Zach Bryan announced his split with Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia. The “Something in the Orange” musician and “PlanBri Uncut” podcast host have ended their over-one-year-long relationship.

Bryan took to his Instagram story to announce the breakup, saying, “Addressing something: Brianna and me 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.”

Here’s what to know about the couple’s relationship, their breakup and LaPaglia’s career.

What did Zach Bryan post about breakup with LaPaglia?

“I have had an incredibly hard year personally and struggled through some pretty severe things,” the 28-year-old “The Great American Bar Scene” artist posted on social media about the split.

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“I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go our different ways. I am not perfect and never will be. Please respect Brianna’s privacy and space in this and if you have it in your heart, mine too.”

 “With everything I am and to anyone I let down, I am sorry,” he concluded.

“I try my best in everything. I failed people that love me and mostly myself.”

What did Brianna Chickenfry say about Zach Bryan split?

After Bryan posted about the split on Instagram, LaPaglia posted her own message.

“Hey guys I’m feeling really blindsided right now,” she said on Instagram. “Gonna hop off social media for a while and attempt to heal privately, when I’m ready I’ll be back and ready to talk.”

LaPaglia also posted a video on YouTube on Tuesday following the public announcement of the split.

As she sat on the bathroom floor in her robe with her cat, she addressed her fans: “I just woke up to Zach posting on his Instagram that we broke up and I had no idea that post was going up,” she said.

“He didn’t text me, he didn’t call me, I just woke up to a bunch of texts being like ‘are you okay?’ and I’m like: ‘Did my f***ing dad die?'”

“I’m like completely blindsided by that … I’ve been crying for like five days straight,” she said.

“How can you give someone everything and love them so unconditionally, like through stuff that you shouldn’t, … how can you give every ounce of yourself to someone and then be discarded of in a few days?”

LaPaglia said that she doesn’t want to talk about details now, but will later. “I wanted to heal privately,” she said. “And I didn’t even know that he was gonna post that and we broke up yesterday. So, I wasn’t ready to do anything publicly … I wanted to just handle this as a human first.”

LaPaglia also posted on Instagram on Tuesday, sharing a handwritten series of thoughts: “The world keeps on spinning in hopes of showing you that you can as well.”

What is Brianna Chickenfry famous for? Where did her nickname come from?

Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia is an Internet personality and podcaster from Boston, Massachusetts.

The 25-year-old rose to prominence after landing a job at Barstool Sports. Before gaining momentum online, LaPaglia attended Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio and was on the swimming and diving team.

She dropped out of college in 2020 after her TikTok account took off, where she posted content about her social life, school and partying.

LaPaglia hosts a podcast called “PlanBri Uncut,” where she and cohost Grace O’Malley discuss navigating your 20s and share relatable thoughts and stories on a range of topics, from love to work. LaPaglia also cohosts the “BFFs” podcast with Barstool founder Dave Portnoy.

LaPaglia’s nickname Chickenfry comes from an old viral Vine video of hers where she compared her leg to a Burger King chicken fry.

How long did Zach Bryan and Brianna Chickenfry date?

Zach Bryan and Brianna LaPaglia started dating in July 2023.

The two met at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2023 and LaPaglia later saw Bryan in concert with “BFFs” podcast co-host Josh Richards at a show where the two were invited onstage.

After talking about Bryan on her podcast “PlanBri Uncut,” Bryan slid into LaPaglia’s DMs and the two started chatting.

The couple officially broke up in October 2024 after over one year of dating.

Audrey Gibbs is a music reporter for The Tennessean. You can reach her at agibbs@tennessean.com.