Zach Bryan’s ex-girlfriend Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia has accused him of emotional abuse.
The influencer made that claim – and more – to the Grammy-winning country music star on her BFFs podcast on November 7. LaPaglia’s accusation came just over two weeks after Bryan, 28, announced their breakup on Instagram on Oct. 22, leaving LaPaglia feeling “blindsided.” The couple had been dating since July 2023.
“The last year of my life was the hardest year of my life dealing with this guy’s abuse,” the 25-year-old told her Barstool Sports co-hosts Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards.
LaPaglia, who said she is “still scared” of the “I Remember Everything” singer, also claimed that he and his team offered her $12 million to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), which would keep her from the relationship could talk, which ended in explosive fashion last month.
A representative for Bryan has not yet responded to Yahoo Entertainment’s request for comment.
LaPaglia Describes Alleged ‘Narcissistic, Emotional Abuse’, NDAs on Podcast
The podcast host claimed she endured “narcissistic, emotional abuse” for a year before they split. She said it was a cycle of “building you up, tearing you down, apologizing – over and over again.” She also claimed he got mad at her for singing a Morgan Wallen song and for what she wore to the 2024 Golden Globes.
LaPaglia said she feels like she has been bombarded with love by the singer. After four happy months together, he “isolated me from my whole life” and “made me feel like he was all I had left.” She said he “kept beating me up repeatedly” to the point where I “hated everything I loved about myself.”
She said Bryan “completely manipulated me,” adding, “I don’t expect people to understand emotional abuse if you haven’t experienced it, and I hope you never have to experience it, but if you’ve been there , you know what I’m talking about.
LaPaglia claimed that there was “always another excuse for why he treated me so badly and why I cry myself to sleep every night. Why he yells at me. And then you wake up [and] it’s the apology. It’s the, ‘I’m going to get better. …I need you in my life. ”
She said his “damn crazy” behavior started after she went to the Golden Globes in January and he “didn’t like” her dress. She said he told her he “didn’t want to date someone who presents himself like that.” She claimed he started trying to control the things she posted on social media.
She also claimed that Bryan “freaked out” when she sang a line from the Red Light District song “Last Night,” which got stuck in her head. They were at home and she was about to make breakfast when she casually sang the lyrics (“Last night we let the drinks talk…”), which she said infuriated him.
“You are singing another man’s song under my roof, in this house that I own,” she claimed he shouted at her. They were fighting about it for ‘a week’.
On NDAs, LaPaglia claimed that in Bryan’s past relationships, he had exes sign legal agreements, preventing them from publicly discussing their experiences with him. (Bryan was previously married to Rose Madden from 2020 to 2021.) LaPaglia said he and his team offered her one — with the promise of $12 million over three years and an apartment in New York. She said she thought about it and made the decision not to sign.
“I don’t want to buy a house in two years and think, ‘Oh, this is the guy’s money who literally ruined me and ruined me for a year.’ F*** that.'”
She insisted it is “a non-drama matter” for her. “This isn’t me signing the NDA… because I want to come here and expose who he is and his secrets and all that stuff. I didn’t take the money because I don’t sign away my experiences and what I’ve been through to protect someone who hurt me, and I’m much stronger than a weak man. F*** you, f*** your money.”
LaPaglia was previously “blindsided” by their breakup, which was messy
The exes met at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2023. In July 2023, LaPaglia — whose nickname is Chickenfry, which comes from a comment about her legs — said on her podcast that they had been dating for three weeks.
According to Us Weekly, the couple moved in together in the spring of 2024. Fast forward to October, when screenshots of DMs Bryan allegedly sent to other women on celebrity dating app Raya went viral.
Shortly afterwards, on October 22, Bryan shared on Instagram that he and LaPaglia had split, writing: “I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart” and that “She has loved me unconditionally for a long time and therefore I will always thank her.”
Bryan also wrote that he “personally had an incredibly difficult year and was struggling through some pretty serious things,” noting, “I’m not perfect and never will be.”
LaPaglia then posted on her Instagram Stories that she felt “blindsided” by Bryan’s post as she tried to “privately” heal from their breakup.
She followed up with a YouTube video in which she reiterated that she was “completely blindsided” by Bryan announcing the breakup, saying he gave her no warning that he would share the news publicly.
“See how swollen my face is? I’ve been crying for five days straight,” she said. “I’m at the point where it’s like, how can you give someone everything and love them so unconditionally – like doing things you shouldn’t do, but you just love them and you just see the good in them – like how can you do that? …give yourself to someone and then be thrown away within a few days? It’s really heartbreaking.”
LaPaglias BFFs co-hosts Portnoy and Richards released a diss track about Bryan titled “Smallest Man.” According to Portnoy, Bryan’s record label, Warner Records, has filed takedown notices and he plans to re-record and re-release it.
LaPaglia said on the podcast that Bryan blocked her on social media.
Brian in the news
The Oklahoma-raised singer started sharing music on YouTube. He released his debut album, DeAnnfollowed in 2019 by Elizabeth in 2020. After signing with Warner Records, he released two more albums, including his 2023 Zach Bryan, for which he won the Best Country Song Grammy Award for “I Remember Everything” with Kacey Musgraves.
In September 2023, Bryan was arrested in Oklahoma for obstruction of the investigation after he and an officer exchanged a few words while his security guard was being apprehended. He apologized to the police.
In September 2024, Bryan apologized again after “drunkenly” tweeting that Kanye West was better than Taylor Swift.
Although he has posted many things on Instagram, he has yet to respond to LaPaglia’s claims.
