Brianna Chickenfry Advises Against Dating Celebrities Before Zach Bryan Split

Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia’s ominous warning about Hollywood romances, recorded prior to her split from Zach Bryan, has our heads spinning.

“I said on [my] ‘BFFs’ [podcast] that I would never date anyone famous, ever. Literally, never wanted to,” LaPaglia, 25, said during the Tuesday, October 22, episode of the “Talk Tuah” podcast, referring to her relationship with Bryan, 28.

LaPaglia’s best friend Grace O’Malley joked that she’d “rue the day” she made that declaration. LaPaglia didn’t respond to the remark, explaining that her romance with Bryan “just happened.”

When podcast host Hailey Welch asked LaPaglia, “What changed your mind?” she confessed, “I don’t know. I wish I ….” and trailed off.

LaPaglia paused, appearing uncomfortable with the topic. “Don’t date famous people,” she eventually said, warning Welch, 22, and her cohost Chelsea to stay away from Hollywood A-listers. “I think it’s better for the mental to not date someone famous,” LaPaglia continued. “It’s a lot.”

Chelsea then wondered how LaPaglia, who is a popular “Barstool Sports” podcaster herself, deals with “all the rumors” about Bryan.

“We didn’t post [about] each other for a while and then I was on tour,” LaPaglia responded, noting that the former couple were very private to start.

She noted that the “internet is crazy” and creates new stories daily that she chooses to ignore. “I don’t defend myself online,” LaPaglia said. “I think it’s stupid to feed into it.”

The interesting exchange was part of an hour-long podcast that was published on Tuesday, hours after news broke that Bryan and LaPaglia had called it quits. It’s unknown when the episode was recorded.

Rumors Bryan and LaPaglia had split started circulating earlier this month, when the country singer’s dating profile was reportedly spotted on Raya.

LaPaglia, meanwhile, shut down breakup rumors during the October 2 episode of her “BFFs” podcast, revealing she’d been “taking the brunt” of all the “personal s—” that Bryan was going through.

LaPaglia said, “It took the internet by storm” when she and Bryan didn’t “post [about] each other for a week,” but gave no hint that the couple was no longer together.

Bryan, however, announced on Tuesday via his Instagram Story that he ended his relationship with LaPaglia. (The pair began dating in July 2023.)

“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,” he wrote. “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.”

As news of their breakup spread, LaPaglia released a YouTube video claiming she was “blindsided” by Bryan’s statement.

“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.”

Although she said she knows she’ll “be OK” in time, she was hoping to “heal privately” before learning that Bryan went public with the news. “I’m just obviously really, really hurt right now,” LaPaglia added.