Why is Brianna LaPaglia called Chickenfry? Influencer breaks down while announcing split from Zach Bryan

TikTok star Brianna LaPaglia told her side of the story after Zach Bryan's breakup announcement "blindsided" her. The social media personality broke down in a video on YouTube, shared on October 22, with the title Love you guys, I'll be back soon. She spoke to the camera while sitting on a bathroom floor, addressing her breakup with the Quittin' Time singer-songwriter.

"I just woke up to Zach posting on his Instagram that we broke up and I had no idea that post was going up. He didn't text me, he didn't call me. I just woke up to a bunch of texts, like, 'Are you okay?'" she explained.

Elsewhere in her YouTube video, LaPaglia confessed that she's been crying for several days. She addressed the camera, saying:

"Do you see the swelling in my face? I've been crying for like five days straight."

Brianna LaPaglia is famous for the nickname Brianna Chickenfry, which she told the New York Post in October 2021 was inspired by an old Vine video where she compared her legs to Burger King chicken fries. While thinking of a TikTok username, she went with Chickenfry, "not thinking that that would be [her] name now."

Brianna LaPaglia and Zach Bryan started dating in July 2023, although they only made a red carpet debut the following year when she joined Bryan at the Grammy's in February 2024.

---

Brianna LaPaglia wants to "heal privately" after Zach Bryan breakup

While rumors were going around that the two had split, Zach Brown publicly announced that he had called it quits with Brianna LaPaglia in an Instagram post earlier on October 22. He wrote:

"Addressing something: Brianna and me have broken up 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."

The musician then shared his "incredibly hard year" and that he "struggled through some pretty severe things." With all that, he thought it would be "beneficial" if he and LaPaglia would go their different ways. He also implied that he's "not perfect" and that he failed the people he loved the most, also asking people to respect his and LaPaglia's privacy and space.

Shortly after Zach Bryan's breakup announcement, Brianna LaPaglia wrote on her Instagram story:

"Hey guys I'm feeling really blindsided right now. Gonna hop off social media for a while and attempt to heal privately."

She also said that she will be back when she's ready to talk. Shortly after her Instagram story, the social media star uploaded her YouTube video addressing the split. She tearfully explained that she and Bryan broke up on Monday and further addressed the "heartbreaking" split.

"How can you give someone everything and love them so unconditionally through stuff that you shouldn't...and then be discarded of in a few days? It's really, really heartbreaking," she said.

She added that she's "really, really hurt right now" after Bryan made their split public when she wanted to "just be hurt for a week and lay in bed."

---

Brianna LaPaglia didn't talk about the reason for the split in her video, saying that she's not ready to discuss those "details" quite yet. However, she promised her fans that she would talk about it eventually.

Despite breaking down in front of the camera while talking about the breakup, the social media star assured her viewers that she was going to be fine before thanking them for their kind messages.