Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia made her return to the “BFFs” podcast following her public split from Zach Bryan — and dedicated the episode to “anyone else that’s been emotionally abused” in a relationship.
“The last year of my life has been the hardest year of my life dealing with the abuse from this dude,” LaPaglia, 25, said during the episode released on Thursday, November 7. “I’m still scared right now because I’m scared of him still. My brain’s rewired. I’m scared to make him mad.”
Bryan, 28, announced via social media on October 22 that he and LaPaglia had split after more than a year of dating. She claimed to be “blindsided” by the announcement after they agreed to keep the breakup private for a week.
Thursday’s podcast episode started out with an intro that LaPaglia had recorded last week but initially decided not to release. (“BFFs” cohosts Josh Richards and Dave Portnoy eventually join LaPaglia for the rest of the episode.)
“I kept showing up when I shouldn’t have, and I kept loving and giving when I shouldn’t have. That’s a me problem,” she said. “If you’re not getting the love that you’re giving you have to walk away and I genuinely think that this is such a blessing because who f—ing knows how long I would have stayed and how long I would have dealt with this s—.”
LaPaglia hurled several allegations at her ex, which Bryan has yet to address. (He shared a cryptic quote via social media post shortly after the podcast was released.)
“I genuinely think he just needs someone that can just be the girl,” LaPaglia claimed. “No one should ever just be the girl, and I was so close to just being the girl.”
Keep scrolling for LaPaglia’s biggest revelations about her relationship with Bryan:
The Alleged Offer From Zach’s Team
LaPaglia alleged that she was offered a “big lump sum” of money by Bryan’s team to be paid out over three years if she signed all of her “experiences” with the singer away.
“I don’t want blood money and I don’t think you can pay people off that you hurt for them to protect you,” she stated, noting that Bryan’s alleged offer “speaks volumes.”
“I did not accept any money, I will not accept any money,” LaPaglia added. “I think that’s beneath me, I think that is f—ed up.”
Later in the episode, Portnoy, 47, alleged that LaPaglia was offered $12 million. She also admitted to going back and forth for two weeks before ultimately turning down the alleged payout.
Why She Didn’t Take the Money
“I’m not the people before. I was someone before you and you made the women before me believe that they had no other choice to take money from you, sign their experiences away, sign what they went through away,” LaPaglia explained. “You get to go skip off and sing your little f—ing songs on stage like you’re a good dude. You get to treat people around you like s—. Sorry I’m not them, I don’t want your money.”
LaPaglia made it clear that she is not sharing these claims publicly to start “drama” on the podcast.
“I’m not signing away my experiences and what I went through to protect someone who hurt me and I’m a lot stronger than a weak man and f— your money, f— you,” she stated.
LaPaglia further claimed that she experienced “literal narcissistic emotional abuse” throughout their entire relationship. “He made me believe everything was my fault,” she alleged. “He isolated me from my whole entire life.”
A Timeline of Their 2 Breakups
In September, LaPaglia went on tour with her “PlanBri Uncut” podcast cohost, Grace O’Malley. Bryan did not accompany them. While LaPaglia was in Seattle, the singer allegedly broke up with her via text. After her tour, Bryan told LaPaglia to move all her stuff out of his house. Days later, however, he apparently called her and said the breakup was a mistake — but never apologized.
“I foolishly was like, ‘OK, I’ll f—ing come back.’ I’m embarrassed of that,” LaPaglia said. “This is partially my fault because I let myself be treated that way and I don’t know why.”
Bryan accompanied LaPaglia and O’Malley to their Boston live show last month. LaPaglia claimed “a lot of horrible s— happened” that night but said she will never repeat it. She forgave Bryan, but that moment was the beginning of the end. Eventually, he left to go to his home state of Oklahoma, and LaPaglia knew that would be the last time she would ever see him.
Getty Images (2) 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 […]
“I’m well aware people break up and things happen,” she said. “People break up and things happen in a normal way. This just was discard, leave, bye.”
The pair agreed that it was up to LaPaglia to decide whether they went public with their breakup. The day Bryan and LaPaglia ultimately split for good (October 21) was allegedly the same day he reactivated his Raya dating app profile.
“Dude, you are the guy right now, you are so famous. Everyone is going to immediately post that,” LaPaglia said. “Do you not have any remorse or regard that you claim to [have] for my feelings when you know we broke up that day, you make a Raya? Obviously, that’s going to be the first thing online.”
She added, “I don’t think you need Raya, I think you need therapy.”
The next day, she saw his social media post announcing their split. “Everyone in my life found out about my breakup from his Instagram Story,” she claimed.
When Zach Reached Out
LaPaglia said she only heard from Bryan directly after Portnoy spoke about their split on “The Unnamed Show” podcast late last month.
“He hates my guts,” Portnoy said. “I ended up more in the middle of this than I, kind of, was anticipating.”
LaPaglia claimed that Bryan had some choice words for Barstool Sports and her podcast cohosts. (At one point, LaPaglia alleged that Bryan also hated her best friend O’Malley.)
Missed Red Flags
Prior to their relationship, which began in summer 2023, LaPaglia and Bryan went on a three-day road trip together. Looking back, she claimed this was love bombing — especially when Bryan got a tattoo dedicated to her on his arm shortly thereafter. (They weren’t even dating yet.)
“I’m just a girl. I loved this dude, this was fun. I believed him,” she said, noting that Bryan alleged “women are always trying to ruin my life online.”
LaPaglia claimed Bryan “manipulated the f—” out of her. “I fell in love with this person that doesn’t exist,” she added. LaPaglia referenced crying herself to sleep and Bryan screaming at her before apologizing the next day — which she experienced “over and over and over.”
When LaPaglia was renewing her contract with Barstool Sports, Bryan allegedly offered to pay “double” what she would be making so that she could quit.
At one point, LaPaglia also recalled a week-long fight between herself and Bryan after she was singing “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen in their home. “I was not really allowed to listen to Noah Kahan, I listened to him too much,” she also alleged.
What Happened at the Golden Globes
While Portnoy previously claimed Bryan was upset with LaPaglia because she called an actor hot during a red carpet interview at the awards show in January, his issue was actually with the dress she wore. (LaPaglia posed in a sheer white gown that hugged her figure and featured a dramatic leg slit.)
“He said he didn’t want to date someone that presents themselves that way,” she recalled. “He ruined my night. Everything good, anything good I did for me, he made sure to ruin it for me.”
She’s Not Sharing Everything
“There’s a lot that I’m not saying. There’s a lot that he did that I’m not saying and it’s almost because, one, it’s so hard I don’t even want it out there and I don’t want to relive it,” LaPaglia stated. “I genuinely just want this to rest.”
What’s the Deal With the Bronco
LaPaglia stated that she wanted to purchase her Ford Bronco, but Bryan allegedly wouldn’t let her. Once they broke up, she asked to pay him for the car.
Initially, he said she can have the car, but when LaPaglia refused the offer from Bryan’s team, he allegedly started “freaking the f— out.” He is allegedly taking her car. (Us Weekly has reached out to Bryan regarding LaPaglia’s podcast claims.)
More details are coming to light regarding Zach Bryan and Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia’s unexpected breakup. “[Brianna] was blindsided by Zach being on dating apps and dating around while they had been in a committed relationship,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “Someone sent her Zach’s Raya profile and girls were reaching out about him dating […]
The Status of Her Friendships
LaPaglia said things are “good” between herself and O’Malley despite rampant speculation online that the friends have been on the outs. “Me and Grace will always be fine,” she stated.
O’Malley wasn’t the only one of LaPaglia’s friends that Bryan had tension with, however. He allegedly rented a huge house to celebrate LaPaglia’s birthday in June with family and friends. Hours after she went to bed, LaPaglia woke up to people screaming. She alleged that there is a recording of Bryan yelling “horrible s—” at her friends.
“I have the craziest videos. Maybe that’s why the $12 million is involved because I have a lot of s— that I’m never going to put out there because it’s embarrassing for me and I don’t want my future kids to see it,” LaPaglia claimed. “That’s probably where the $12 million comes from.”
