Brianna LaPaglia, the 25-year-old Barstool Sports firebrand better known as Chickenfry, isn’t just moving on from her split with country star Zach Bryan—she’s rewriting the rules of the breakup ballad. In a defiant chat with TMZ this week, LaPaglia doubled down on her refusal to sign a reported $12 million NDA offered by Bryan post-split, dismissing the payout as “Devil’s money” with the kind of sharp-tongued wit that’s made her a Gen-Z icon. “I’ll make my own money,” she shrugged, striding through LAX in a leather jacket and sunglasses, every inch the anti-damsel in distress. “Twelve million is excessive. What am I gonna do with that?”
The breakup, announced by Bryan last October via an Instagram Stories missive that read like a somber campfire confession, left fans reeling. “She loved me unconditionally,” he wrote, framing their split as a mutual unraveling amid his own “severe” personal struggles. But for LaPaglia, the split felt less like a duet and more like a solo mic drop. “Blindsided,” she admitted weeks later, retreating from social media before resurfacing with the kind of comeback arc Nashville scribes would sell their souls to pen.
Now, she’s wielding her voice like a weapon. On her PlanBri Uncut podcast and beyond, LaPaglia has framed Bryan’s alleged NDA as a silencing tactic—a financial gag order she refused to let define her story. “That’s not my money,” she told TMZ, her tone breezy but her stance steelier than a honky-tonk jukebox. It’s a stance that echoes Loretta Lynn’s “Rated X” grit, swapping out country patriarchy for influencer-era autonomy.
Meanwhile, Bryan, 28, has channeled his energy into new music and Instagram brevity, leaving the drama unaddressed. But LaPaglia’s not waiting for a verse-two apology. Instead, she’s flipping the script: In January, she graced the digital cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, a move she claims Bryan once urged her to decline. “This is me taking control of my life,” she declared, her photoshoot defiance radiating hotter than a Tennessee July. “My body isn’t that experience.”
The cover isn’t just a middle finger to past constraints—it’s a reclamation. LaPaglia, who rose to fame on BFFs Podcast with her unfiltered takes and “too busy” hustle, now embodies the self-made ethos she preaches. “I don’t want someone else’s money,” she insists, a mantra that’s less about spite and more about sovereignty.
As for love? “Never dating a musician again,” she laughed, though her tone softened at the idea of future romance. “Just… someone nice.” It’s a modest ask, but for LaPaglia, “nice” might just be code for a partner who knows better than to underestimate her. After all, this is a woman who turned down devilish dollars to bet on herself—and in the high-stakes poker game of modern celebrity, that’s a royal flush.
Zach Bryan’s loss? Arguably. But as any country fan knows, the best revenge isn’t a breakup song—it’s living well. And Chickenfry’s just getting started.
Source: People
