Brianna Chickenfry says she was ‘caught off guard’ when Zach Bryan announces breakup with cryptic statement

Zach Bryan confirmed that he and the Barstool Sports personality Brianna LaPaglia (aka Brianna Chickenfry) split after a year of dating.

“Addressing something: Brianna and I broke up with each other (SIC) and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart,” Bryan, 28, shared in a statement on Instagram Story on Tuesday, October 22. unconditionally for a long time and for that I will always thank you.”

He continued: “I’ve had an incredibly difficult year personally and I’ve been through some very difficult things. I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go our separate ways. I’m not perfect and I never will be.”

Bryan asked his followers to respect LaPaglia’s “privacy and space” as they navigated the split.

Country Star Zach Bryan and Barstool Sports’ Brianna’ Chickenfry’ LaPaglia’s Relationship Timeline

“If you have it in your heart, so does mine,” he continued. “With everything I am and anyone I have let down, I am sorry. I try my best in everything. I failed people who love me and especially myself.”

Shortly after her post, LaPaglia appeared to address the split with a statement of her own on social media.

“Hey guys, I’m feeling really blindsided right now. I’m going to get off social media for a while and try to heal in private, when I’m ready I’ll be back and ready to talk,” she shared via Instagram Stories on Tuesday. “I love you guys so much, thank you for all your kind words. Remember that you are loved very much and everything will always be okay.”

Fans began speculating that Bryan and LaPaglia, 25, had split after the podcast host posted a cryptic handwritten note via Instagram Stories on Monday, October 21.

“And eventually you will discover that life goes on, even if you don’t want it to,” he wrote. “The days will pass and the world will move while you ask it to stop. You will believe that life is cruel for continuing while your feet are bound.”

LaPaglia continued: “You will find people and moments to blame for your concrete feet. Then there will come a morning when you wake up and realize that things go on, life isn’t cruel, your feet are. The world keeps turning in hopes of showing you that you can too.”

Bryan and LaPaglia went public with their relationship in July 2023, with the Barstool personality telling podcast listeners that it was a “fun” and “casual” romance. (They crossed paths earlier that year at the ACM Awards and again in June 2023 at one of her concerts.)

Singer Zach Bryan’s Dating History: From Ex-Wife to Barstool Affair

During their relationship, the couple got a dog, which they named Boston, after her hometown. The “Something in the Orange” singer also purchased a home earlier this year in Duxbury, Massachusetts.

While neither has spoken much about their relationship publicly, the couple shared Valentine’s Day tributes this past February.

“You’re tough when people are rude, you’re honest when it’s hard, you’re kind when it’s easy not to be, you’re funny in a world full of cry babies, you’re beautiful without help, you’re patient when I’m an idiot, you are empathetic when you shouldn’t be,” he wrote on social media at the time. “I wish this world saw you in the same lights as I do. I love you and happy Valentine’s Day hot dog. Sorry, I never had to leave that plan in Las Vegas to ask, but here are 80 more.”