Country star Zach Bryan and his girlfriend, podcast host Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia, have officially broken up.
Split rumors started swirling Monday after LaPaglia posted an emotional message on Instagram but didn’t mention Bryan by name. The “Heading South” singer confirmed the news Tuesday in his own Instagram post.
“Brianna and me have broken up with each other, and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart,” Bryan wrote. “I have 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 our different ways.”
In her own Instagram post, LaPaglia said she was “feeling really blindsided right now” in the wake of Bryan’s announcement and planned to take a break from social media.
LaPaglia, who started her career as a TikTok creator and later landed a podcast with Barstool Sports, also posted a three-minute YouTube video Tuesday afternoon.
“I wanted to heal privately, and I didn’t even know if he was gonna post that,” she said in the clip shared to her page for the “Plan Bri Uncut” podcast. “We broke up yesterday, so I wasn’t ready to do anything publicly.”
Bryan and LaPaglia began dating in 2023 and announced their relationship on the podcast that summer. They celebrated their one-year anniversary on July 14 with endearing Instagram posts.
But on Monday, LaPaglia posted a photo of a handwritten note that read in part: “Eventually you’ll find that life goes on, even if you don’t want it to. The days will pass and the world will move while you ask it to stop.”
“I am not perfect and never will be,” Bryan wrote Tuesday. “Please respect Brianna’s privacy and space in this and if you have it in your heart, mine too.”