Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia learned a lot about her mental strength during and in the wake of her relationship with Zach Bryan.
“I think what that taught me about myself is how much, like, adversity I can really withstand and go through,” LaPaglia, 26, said on the Monday, September 29, episode of SiriusXM’s Hits 1.
“And it sounds crazy, but it was like training me for Special Forces in a way, right?” she continued, referring to her appearance on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 4, “If I can get through that, then I can get through anything, and if I can do what I did last year, then Special Forces, it’s like a walk in the park. So I think it just taught me a lot about my mental strength.”
LaPaglia and Bryan met at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2023, and she confirmed their relationship on her “PlanBri Uncut” podcast that following July. The pair dated for just over one year before Bryan announced their split in October 2024.
“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 via his Instagram Story at the time. “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.”
LaPaglia later released a statement of her own, sharing that she felt “really blindsided” by Bryan going public with their breakup.
“Gonna hop off social media for a while and attempt to heal privately, when I’m ready I’ll be back and ready to talk,” she wrote via Instagram. “I love you guys so much thank you for all of your kind words. Remember you are so loved and everything’s always gonna be OK.”
LaPaglia also posted an emotional YouTube video discussing her heartbreak.
“I’ve been crying for, like, five days straight,” she said. “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?”
Weeks after their split, LaPaglia claimed during a November 2024 episode of her “BFFs” podcast with Josh Richards that she was “emotionally abused” by Bryan. (Us Weekly reached out to Bryan’s team at the time for comment and received no response.)
“The last year of my life has been the hardest year of my life dealing with the abuse from this dude,” she claimed. “I’m still scared right now because I’m scared of him. My brain’s rewired and I’m scared to make him mad.”
Bryan and LaPaglia have since seemingly feuded on social media. In early August, the country singer appeared to throw shade at his ex by sharing a video of a “Saturdays Are for the Boys” towel on fire in the grass. (The “Saturdays Are for the Boys” towel is part of the merch collection at Barstool Sports, where LaPaglia works.)
LaPaglia seemingly responded to the post by writing via her Instagram Story, “Nurse he’s loose again,” adding crying and laughing emojis.
In another upload, she wrote, “I’m locking my doors, because what the f*** that s*** is terrifying.”
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test airs Thursdays at p.m. ET on Fox.