Brianna LaPaglia (Brianna Chickenfry)

Brianna LaPaglia (born June 17, 1999), widely known online as Brianna Chickenfry, is an American podcaster, social media personality, content creator, and Barstool Sports media figure. Born and raised in Rockland, Massachusetts, she first gained attention on Vine and TikTok before joining Barstool Sports as an intern while still enrolled at Baldwin Wallace University, a position she converted into a full-time media career after dropping out. She is the host of the podcast PlanBri Uncut and co-host of BFFs alongside Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and content creator Josh Richards. As of 2026, she has accumulated over 2.5 million TikTok followers and more than 160 million content likes, more than 1.1 million Instagram followers, and over 1.5 million YouTube views. She landed the digital cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in January 2025. Her name entered mainstream cultural conversation globally following the public dissolution of her relationship with Grammy-winning country artist Zach Bryan in October 2024 and her subsequent allegations of emotional abuse and a declined $12 million non-disclosure agreement, which she discussed on the BFFs podcast on November 7, 2024. As of 2026, she lives in a Manhattan penthouse apartment in New York City.

Who Is Brianna Chickenfry?

Brianna LaPaglia, known universally by the nickname Brianna Chickenfry, is one of the most recognized female podcasters in the Barstool Sports universe and one of the most candid voices in her generation of digital content creators. She built her audience not through polished, aspirational content but through the opposite: raw, unfiltered honesty about hangovers, breakups, body image, and the realities of young adult life that most influencers carefully avoid showing. That authenticity is the engine behind everything she has built. It is also what drove her to walk away from a $12 million offer of silence after one of the most high-profile relationships in recent country music history ended badly, and to discuss the full story on camera rather than accept the money and disappear.

Brianna Chickenfry Real Name

Brianna Chickenfry’s real name is Brianna LaPaglia. The nickname Chickenfry originated on Vine, the short-form video platform that preceded TikTok. She posted a video in which she compared her legs to Burger King Chicken Fries, the video went viral, and the name followed her long after Vine itself shut down. She explained the origin directly in an interview with Joe Vulpis: “I made a Vine where I thought my leg looked like a Burger King Chicken Fry, and then it went viral and I’m like, I’m gonna stick with the Chickenfry name.” She maintains two TikTok accounts, one under @briannachickenfry and a secondary account under @ihatebriannachickenfry, the self-deprecating tone of the second handle reflecting the humor that defines her brand.

Brianna LaPaglia Age and Birthday

Brianna LaPaglia was born on June 17, 1999, in Rockland, Plymouth County, Massachusetts. As of 2026, she is 27 years old. She is a Gemini by zodiac sign, a detail her audience considers fitting given her communication-forward, quick-witted public persona. She grew up in Rockland and attended Rockland High School before leaving Massachusetts for college in Ohio.

Early Life and Family

LaPaglia was born and raised in Rockland, Massachusetts, a small town in Plymouth County south of Boston. She was born to Wayne LaPaglia (her father) and Joyce Donahue (her mother). She has three siblings: Brooke, Justine, and Valerie LaPaglia, with Valerie being married to a man named David. Her childhood best friend is fellow TikTok personality Grace O’Malley, a friendship she has spoken about publicly and which has remained intact through her rise in the media industry.

She was raised in a Christian household and identifies as Christian. She is of White, Italian-American heritage, the surname LaPaglia being of Italian origin. She is American by nationality.

She owns a dog named Boston, who has made regular appearances in her content and is well-known to her long-term audience.

Education

LaPaglia attended Rockland High School in Rockland, Massachusetts, where she was known for her outgoing personality. She subsequently enrolled at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, where she pursued a pre-medicine track studying biochemistry and public health. She was also a member of the university’s swim and dive team during her time there, competing at the collegiate level.

Her college career was interrupted and ultimately ended when Barstool Sports offered her an internship that she leveraged into a full-time position. She dropped out of Baldwin Wallace University without completing her degree to pursue the opportunity. In an interview with Jason Tartick, she disclosed that her first contract with Barstool paid approximately $75,000 for the year, a figure she cited as reflective of how little she initially earned despite the opportunity it represented.

Career

Origin on Vine and TikTok (2016 to 2019)

LaPaglia first gained traction on Vine, the short-form video app that shut down in January 2017, where her Chicken Fry video earned her the nickname that has since defined her public identity. After Vine’s shutdown, she migrated her content to TikTok, where she began posting in March 2019. Her TikTok content centered on relatable humor, college life, hangover recovery videos, and unfiltered candor about the experiences of a young woman in her early twenties. The combination of specificity and humor proved well-suited to TikTok’s algorithm, and her following grew steadily.

Joining Barstool Sports

Barstool Sports discovered her through TikTok and offered her a week-long internship that served as an audition. She joined the company while still enrolled at Baldwin Wallace University, then made the decision to drop out and commit to the role full-time. Her initial contract, as she has disclosed publicly, paid $75,000 annually. She has described that figure as the starting point from which her career and earning power grew substantially as her audience expanded.

PlanBri Uncut

PlanBri Uncut is LaPaglia’s flagship solo podcast, produced under the Barstool Sports umbrella. The show is built around her candid commentary on relationships, mental health, personal growth, party culture, and the unglamorous realities of young adult life. It has accumulated over 145,000 YouTube subscribers and serves as the primary vehicle for her individual voice within the Barstool ecosystem. She has spoken openly on the podcast about breakups, body image struggles, and experiences that many influencers in her position would carefully avoid putting on record.

BFFs with Josh Richards and Dave Portnoy

BFFs is a co-hosted podcast produced by Barstool Sports featuring LaPaglia (as Brianna Chickenfry), Barstool founder Dave Portnoy, and content creator Josh Richards. The show covers internet culture, influencer dynamics, pop culture, relationships, and current events from the perspective of three creators at very different points in their careers. It is one of Barstool’s most listened-to productions and has been the platform through which several of the most significant moments of LaPaglia’s public life have played out, including the November 2024 episode in which she publicly addressed her relationship with Zach Bryan.

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover (January 2025)

In January 2025, LaPaglia became the face of a digital cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. She was photographed by Katherine Gougen at The Austin Estate in La Quinta, California. She described the moment in an interview with WWD as a statement of reclaiming her identity: “This cover is me being me again and taking control of my life. I wanted to do this, and now I’m on the digital cover.” The cover was released in the immediate aftermath of the Zach Bryan fallout and was widely read as a public declaration of her personal and professional independence following that period.

Television and Other Appearances

LaPaglia has extended her media presence beyond podcasting and social media into television. Her IMDb credits include a role as herself in the TV mini-series Out of Order (2023), a self-credit in the Formula 1 TV series (2024) as a spectator, and credits connected to Zach Bryan’s Oak Island (2024, writer credit) and Zach Bryan: Nine Ball (2024, additional crew). She has appeared at the 2025 Golden Globes and the New Heights House Party hosted by Jason and Travis Kelce in February 2025, among other high-profile live events.

Merchandise

LaPaglia sells branded merchandise through the Barstool Sports store, including custom T-shirts, hoodies, caps, and accessories with price points ranging from approximately $35 to $65. Her merchandise line draws on her Chickenfry brand identity and has been consistently promoted across her social media platforms.

Brianna LaPaglia and Zach Bryan: Relationship, Breakup, and the $12 Million NDA

The Relationship (July 2023 to October 2024)

LaPaglia and country music star Zach Bryan began dating in July 2023, after she attended one of his concerts. Bryan, a Grammy-winning artist known for songs including Something in the Orange and I Remember Everything, invited her on a road trip shortly after they met. She has described the early stage of the relationship as a textbook example of love bombing: Bryan allegedly got a tattoo of her on his arm within days of their meeting, moving at a pace she has since characterized as a deliberate manipulation tactic rather than genuine romantic intensity.

The relationship lasted approximately one year, spanning from July 2023 to October 2024.

The Breakup (October 22, 2024)

Zach Bryan announced the end of their relationship on Instagram on October 22, 2024. LaPaglia has said she was blindsided by the announcement, stating there was no formal breakup conversation. According to her account, he told her he “couldn’t do this” and returned to Oklahoma without further discussion. She said the breakup post went live because he had been caught by her through a Raya profile screenshot that circulated on social media, suggesting he reactivated the dating app. Zach Bryan has not publicly responded to this or other claims she has made about the relationship.

The November 7, 2024 BFFs Podcast Episode

On November 7, 2024, LaPaglia addressed the relationship publicly for the first time in a full episode of the BFFs podcast alongside Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards. The episode became one of the most covered entertainment stories of the final months of 2024, reported on by Forbes, People, TMZ, Fox News, The Independent, Yahoo Entertainment, and numerous other major outlets.

Her account included the following specific allegations:

She described the relationship as involving a sustained cycle of “build you up, beat you down, apologize, over and over and over,” which she characterized as a pattern of narcissistic, emotional abuse. She said she is “still scared of him” and that her brain had been “rewired” to fear provoking his anger. She alleged he smashed her phone against a wall, causing it to crack, and held the damaged phone up to camera during the episode as evidence. She alleged he screamed insults at her friends and family during at least one incident and smashed glass. She said he became angry about her singing a Morgan Wallen song in his presence. She said he disliked the dress she wore to the 2024 Golden Globes and expressed displeasure about it, though he later reposted a photograph of her in the same dress and referred to her as beautiful. She alleged that asking previous girlfriends to sign NDAs was a pattern of his behavior, not a one-time response to their breakup.

Regarding the NDA: Bryan’s team offered her $12 million plus a New York apartment in exchange for her silence about the relationship and its end. She declined. Her explanation, in her own words, was: “I didn’t take the money because I’m not signing away my experiences and what I went through to protect someone that hurt me. I’m a lot stronger than that.”

Dave Portnoy subsequently released a diss track titled “Country Diddy” targeting Bryan in LaPaglia’s defense. Zach Bryan has not directly responded to any of LaPaglia’s allegations.

Aftermath and Recovery

LaPaglia has continued to address the relationship and its impact on her life in subsequent public appearances, including an interview with Alix Earle on the Hot Mess podcast in December 2024 and an appearance on the Him & Her Podcast in January 2026, where she used her experience to offer guidance to others in toxic relationships. She described the aftermath of the relationship as a period of significant personal rebuilding.

At the 2025 Golden Globes, she publicly stated she was leaving relationships with men behind for the new year, a declaration that generated significant social media discussion. Zach Bryan quietly married Samantha Leonard in 2025.

Brianna LaPaglia Net Worth

Brianna LaPaglia’s estimated net worth is between $1 million and $3 million as of 2026, with the most widely cited midpoint being approximately $2 million. Her income streams include:

• Her Barstool Sports salary, which she disclosed began at $75,000 annually before growing substantially
• Advertising revenue from PlanBri Uncut and BFFs
• Brand sponsorships and sponsored content across TikTok and Instagram
• Merchandise sales through the Barstool Sports store
• Modeling fees, including from her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit campaign
• Live event appearance fees
• YouTube monetization

She currently lives in a $13,000-a-month Manhattan penthouse in New York City, a lifestyle indicator consistent with the upper end of her net worth estimate. All figures are informal estimates based on industry norms and publicly available information rather than verified financial disclosures.

Social Media Presence

As of 2026, LaPaglia maintains a multi-platform digital presence:

Her YouTube channel was launched on April 30, 2021, and has accumulated over 1.5 million total views across her combined uploads, including PlanBri Uncut episodes and standalone content.

Personal Life

LaPaglia is based in New York City, where she lives in a $13,000-a-month Manhattan penthouse that she moved into following the dissolution of her relationship with Zach Bryan. She grew up in Rockland, Massachusetts, and attended college in Berea, Ohio, before settling permanently in New York.

She is currently single as of 2026, a status she has spoken about directly. At the 2025 Golden Globes she publicly addressed the possibility of stepping away from relationships with men and has since appeared on multiple podcasts to discuss navigating life and identity independently following a high-profile, difficult relationship.

Her childhood best friend Grace O’Malley has remained a consistent part of her life and has appeared in her content. Her dog Boston is a recurring presence in her social media output and is well known to her audience.

She previously dated an individual named Nik, who was a frequent presence on her social media accounts before the Zach Bryan relationship. No further public details about that relationship have been shared.

Filmography and Television

References

1. Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, “Brianna LaPaglia News & Galleries” (January 2025)
2. Forbes, “Zach Bryan and Brianna LaPaglia Breakup and Abuse Allegations, Explained,” Conor Murray (November 11, 2024)
3. TMZ, “Brianna LaPaglia Says Zach Bryan Was Emotionally Abusive, ‘I’m Still Scared Right Now‘” (November 7, 2024)
4. People, “Brianna LaPaglia Accuses Ex-Boyfriend Zach Bryan of Abuse and Says He Makes Exes Sign NDAs” (November 7, 2024)
5. Hollywood Life, “Why Did Brianna Chickenfry and Zach Bryan Break Up?” (January 1, 2026)