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Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia seemingly shared her cryptic reaction to ex-boyfriend Zach Bryan’s harsh lyrics with a Taylor Swift song.
LaPaglia, 26, shared Swift’s “Actually Romantic” on a since-expired slide on her Instagram story. Swift released the song on her latest 12-track studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. LaPaglia quoted the lyrics: “It’s actually sweet all the time you’ve spent on me. It’s honestly wild.”
Bryan, 29, met the Barstool Sports personality in 2023. They started dating that year, and LaPaglia said she was “blindsided” when they called in quits in October 2024. She later alleged emotional abuse, and said the singer-songwriter made her a $12 million offer to sign an NDA to agree not to speak publicly about their relationship. LaPaglia said she declined. Bryan did not publicly address his ex-girlfriend’s accusations after the breakup.
Bryan’s 25-track album, With Heaven on Top, arrived on Friday (January 9). Many listeners wondered whether the country star referenced his ex-girlfriend in “Skin,” “Slicked Back” and “Plastic Cigarette.” “Skin,” for example, includes lyrics about taking “a blade to my old tattoos,” to drain “the blood between me and you.” He also sang, “didn’t believe the evil beneath some people you meet out in Queens,” and referenced someone who “put it all online.” Bryan has not publicly addressed whether his new songs are about LaPaglia as of publication time on Monday (January 12).
Bryan also appears to reference his wife, Samantha Leonard, 28, in some of the With Heaven on Top tracks. The couple announced on New Year’s Eve that they got married in Spain. Bryan said his album is “a collection of songs my band and me recorded across three different houses in Oklahoma this winter. The cool air kept us all inside staggering around each live take. I pray these all end up meaning as much to others as they mean to me. Songs are living things, they want to be free and these free’d me.
“I was in the throes for a long time and the simple statement of heaven being above me got me through a lot,” Bryan continued in a caption on Instagram. “Not my job to convince anyone of anything. I’m not trying to sell music. Music to me is God’s gift and it needs no competition or commentary. The last ten years I’ve tried my best to share the human experience. I feel like I’ve lived all my 20’s out on a very large, very lucky and very unfair stage but this one felt different. This one felt like recording music with my best friends again. I’ll always give my best and I’ll always be willin’. Thanks for listening and I will see everyone on the road.”