Brianna ‘Chickenfry’ LaPaglia is opening up about how she’s faring one year after her public breakup with ex-boyfriend Zach Bryan.
The 26-year-old multihyphenate — who competed on season 4 of Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test — had a breakthrough moment on the third episode of the show.
She revealed on national television that she ‘lost sight of myself’ during the breakdown of her relationship and ‘just didn’t want to be here anymore.’
In November 2024 Brianna claimed that the music artist, 29, offered her millions of dollars to keep quiet about their romance and asked her to sign an NDA, which she denied.
Asked by People if appearing on the competition series helped her ‘reclaim’ her voice, she answered, ‘I don’t think I ever lost it because I never signed [the NDA].’
She continued, ‘So, I don’t think any of this is reclaiming, really. It’s just standing true to who I am and how I’ve always been online.’
Brianna ‘Chickenfry’ LaPaglia is opening up about how she’s faring one year after her public breakup with ex-boyfriend Zach Bryan; pictured in October
She revealed on national television that she ‘lost sight of myself’ during the breakdown of her relationship with Zach and ‘just didn’t want to be here anymore’; the singer pictured in February 2024
The podcaster asserted, ‘This is Bri. This is who I was five years ago when I started on social media before I went through all of that, before anyone knew about that relationship.
‘So it’s just me being who I am to the core, and that year and that dark place that I was in and that relationship, I wasn’t me. So if anything, it’s just me moving forward.’
Brianna faced grueling challenges on Special Forces, including ‘carrying 90 pounds of chains with a 30-pound backpack up a mountain in Africa in 100-degree weather.’
Reflecting on her time on the show, she said, ‘What it’s taught me about myself is how mentally capable I am of truly anything.
‘I don’t find myself saying “I can’t” anymore, which I did a lot on the show, and I don’t find myself doubting myself as much, which is really cool.’
In a November 2024 episode of her BFFS podcast, Brianna was honest about the emotional trauma she was left with following her split from the country crooner.
‘I’m still scared of him. My brain’s rewired. I’m scared to make him mad. Last week I didn’t want to talk about it because I was scared,’ she explained to listeners at the time.
She continued, ‘I still said f*** your money,’ in reference to the NDA she alleged Zach urged her to sign. ‘You made the women before me believe they had no other choice. And to take money from you, sign their experiences away, sign what they went through away.
‘You get to go skip off and sing your little f***ing songs on stage like you’re a good dude.’
The former couple ended their relationship in October 2024 after one year of dating
In a November 2024 episode of her BFFS podcast, Brianna was honest about the emotional trauma she was left with following her split from the country crooner and said she was ‘scared’ of him; The exes pictured in February 2024
Zach’s fans have recently pointed out the uncanny resemblance between his new girlfriend Samantha Leonard (R) and Brianna (L)
Zach’s fans have recently pointed out the uncanny resemblance between his new girlfriend Samantha Leonard and Brianna.
Some people — including his ex-girlfriend — have gone as far as calling Samantha a ‘clone’ of the social media star.
On her Plan Bri Uncut podcast, she said, ‘I think that is narcissism textbook 101, like, that’s what narcissists do. They just go and find another version of you to date.’
Brianna also said that when the singer posts photos 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,”‘ she 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?’
