Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia admitted being romantically involved with a celebrity is not good for someone’s “mental” health prior to her breakup with Zach Bryan.
The Barstool Sports personality got candid about the struggles of dating the country singer on Tuesday’s episode of the “Talk Tuah with Haliey Welch” podcast, which was filmed days before Bryan announced their split.
“I think it’s better for the mental [state] to not date someone famous,” she said. “It’s a lot.”
Earlier in the episode, LaPaglia explained she once vowed to “never date anyone famous,” saying she “literally never wanted to and then it kind of just happened.”
The 25-year-old media personality went on to say she tries not to entertain the numerous online rumors about her then-relationship.
“The internet is crazy and they run with stuff, and I don’t ever defend myself online,” she said. “So, it kind of just spirals into like a snowball cause I think it’s stupid to feed into.”
LaPaglia met the “Pink Skies” singer, 28, at the 2023 ACM Awards that May in Dallas, but their relationship did not turn romantic until the influencer attended one of her now-ex’s concerts.
“I went to one of his shows and then we made a podcast episode about the show. And then he DM’d me on Instagram,” she shared. “He slid in the DMs.”
The pair, who confirmed their romance in July 2023, announced their breakup on Tuesday.
In a statement shared on his Instagram Story, Bryan wrote that he has “respect and love” for LaPaglia.
He admitted to having “an incredibly hard year personally and [struggling] through some pretty severe things.”
“I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go our different ways,” the musician added. “I am not perfect and never will be.”
LaPaglia, however, claimed she was “blindsided” by her ex’s announcement.
“I just woke up to Zach posting on his Instagram that we broke up, and I had no idea that post was going up,” she said in a YouTube video uploaded Tuesday. “He didn’t text me, he didn’t call me.”
LaPaglia said she has been “crying for five days straight” but that she does not feel ready to share the details of their split.
A source told Page Six the former couple was “crazy about each other, but their relationship was always rocky” since Bryan’s “lifestyle is not conducive to a serious relationship.”