Country star Zach Bryan’s fans have been pointing out the uncanny resemblance between his new girlfriend and his ex.
The Pink Skies hitmaker, 29, is currently dating Samantha Leonard, following his messy split from podcaster Brianna ‘Chickenfry’ LaPaglia, 26, in 2024, after a year of dating.
However, many have been shocked at the eerie similarity between the two ladies, with some — LaPaglia included — even calling Leonard a ‘clone’ of his ex.
And in a recent Instagram post wishing his new girlfriend a happy birthday, Bryan — who was recently slammed by fans over his anti ICE song — chose to keep the comments turned off, seemingly trying to prevent fans from drawing comparisons.
LaPaglia recently commented on the controversy herself during her Plan Bri Uncut podcast, stating, ‘I think that is narcissism textbook 101, like, that’s what narcissists do. They just go and find another version of you to date.’
Meanwhile her Barstool colleague, Dave Portnoy, called Bryan a ‘psychopath’, adding that it looked like the singer ‘built a Briana 2.0.’
Country star Zach Bryan’s, 29, fans have been pointing out the uncanny resemblance between his new girlfriend Samantha Leonard, 28 (L) and his ex Brianna ‘Chickenfry’ LaPaglia, 26 (R)
And in a recent Instagram post wishing his new girlfriend a happy birthday, Bryan chose to keep the comments turned off, seemingly trying to prevent fans from drawing comparisons
Bryan, who began dating Leonard this summer, shared a number of snaps showing off his new lady love over the weekend.
One was a loved-up photo of them looking cozy at a picnic bench, as he leaned down to kiss her cheek.
Another was a photo of her standing in a river while proudly holding a fish.
Yet another snap showed Leonard grilling in a frilly tube top and light jeans.
There was also a snap of her rocking a black t-shirt and white pants while smiling at the camera, as well as photos of her strolling in nature and sun bathing in a bikini.
‘From bull runs to all the bulls**t, today is your birthday and I love you Samantha Marie,’ he wrote in the caption.
‘To the only woman who can hike six miles in Chanel flats, skydive over the alps and catch a bigger fish than me all in the same day. hope your day was as graceful as you are. about one of the best days’a the year celebrating you. to a runaway one’a these days.’
He addeed: ‘“sammy, sammy I really don’t think you should run with these bulls it feels like it’ll be unsafe, I don’t want you to get hurt.
‘”zach, look at me, I don’t care, I’m running with these damn bulls” HAPPY 28TH!!!’
Bryan shared a number of snaps showing off his new lady love over the weekend
Many have been shocked at the eerie similarity between the two ladies, with some even calling Leonard a ‘clone’ of LaPaglia
There were photos of her strolling in nature and sun bathing in a bikini
One snap saw her enjoying the great outdoors
It comes after LaPaglia’s Barstool colleague, Dave Portnoy, called Bryan a ‘psychopath’, adding that it looked like the singer ‘built a Briana 2.0’ (L) LaPaglia seen on Instagram, (R) Leonard seen on Instagram
One fan on TikTok recently wrote that they couldn’t believe the two ladies are ‘not the same person’ while another added they look ‘identical.’
LaPaglia addressed the ongoing speculation about their resemblance on her podcast earlier this month.
‘Next question is [one] that I got a million times. “What do you think about Zach’s girlfriend looking exactly like you?”‘
‘People are like, “Are you creeped out? Are you mad? Are you flattered?” I am flattered to be honest,’ LaPaglia said.
‘I dyed my hair so that people [would] stop sending me every single picture that he posts of her, and I blocked him. I don’t wanna see this [and] I don’t want to indulge in anything that he does.’
‘The only time he comes across my desk is when he, like, jumps over fences or talks about ICE … when he’s in the news. I have him blocked on everything, so I only see articles when they come up on my [TikTok] For You Page, but his [new girlfriend] looking exactly like me is crazy nonetheless.’
She also said that when he posts photos of him with his new girlfriend, she receives messages from fans asking if they’ve reconciled.
‘I’m like, “Guys, no, that’s not me. I literally dyed my hair for this reason,”‘ LaPaglia explained.
‘I was, like, “I cannot continuously keep being compared to someone. It’s exhausting.” It’s crazy and it’s weird that he’s dating a new version of me, but who cares at this point?’
One fan on TikTok wrote that they couldn’t believe the two ladies are ‘not the same person’ while another added they look ‘identical’
LaPaglia has agreed with fans that Leonard looks like her ‘clone’ and called Bryan a ‘narcissist’ on her Plan Bri Uncut podcast earlier this month
LaPaglia went on to say that she ‘doesn’t care’ what Bryan does with his life.
‘I’m just so glad he’s not near me — just near my clone. Sorry, I have to say it. Your new girl is my clone.
Meanwhile in August, Portnoy branded Bryan a ‘psychopath’ after highlighting how similar his girlfriend looks to LaPaglia.
‘I honestly don’t even know what I’m looking at here. This guy is an absolute psychopath. He went and built a Briana 2.0 in the lab. This is insane.’
Brianna and Zach had a tumultuous relationship and public breakup last year.
Two months after meeting at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May of 2023, they began a romance – making a high-profile debut together on the red carpet at the 2024 Grammys.
However, tables turned in October of 2024 when Zach announced in a lengthy statement to Instagram that the pair have parted ways after more than one year together.
Just over 30 minutes after his statement, Brianna alluded to the break-up with her own message stating she was going to be taking a social media break after feeling ‘really blindsided.’
Zach and Brianna, pictured at the Grammys in 2024, had a high profile split last year
Shortly after the statements, the drama-filled feud began to take flight on social media, as Brianna admitted Zach announced the split prior to telling her he was going to share the break-up post.
She also claimed that Zach had subjected her to ‘narcissistic, emotional’ abuse throughout their relationship.
In a post from last year, the influencer also revealed that Zach had picked out an engagement ring for her while he was ‘was cheating the whole time.’
During an episode of the BFFs Podcast, Brianna opened up about allegedly refusing to sign an NDA from Zach, as well as refusing to accept any money or what she called ‘bribes’ from his team.
