Brianna Chickenfry is putting her mental health first.
The Barstool Sports personality’s messy breakup from country superstar Zach Bryan has seemed to capture the attention of the entire internet. It all started a couple of weeks ago, when Zach mentioned that he had been “going through a hard time” in his personal life. Internet sleuths then noticed that Zach and Brianna hadn’t posted any pictures together recently, and the speculation of the celebrity couple breaking up reached a boiling point.
Brianna put those rumors to bed on an episode of her BFFs podcast, where she said they were “together” and that everything was “okay.” But in reality, there was trouble in paradise, as Bryan only days later shared a post to his Instagram story confirming that he and Brianna had broken up:
“Addressing something: Brianna and me have broken up with each other 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.
I have had an incredibly hard year personally and struggled through some pretty severe things. I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go our different ways. I am not perfect and never will be.
Please respect Brianna’s privacy and space in this and if you have it in your heart, mine too. With everything I am and to anyone I let down, I am sorry. I try my best in everything. I failed people that love me and mostly myself.”
The couple had been public with their relationship since last July, celebrating their one year together this past summer. Brianna even traveled with Zach on his bus during his Quittin’ Time tour – along with their dogs, Boston and Jack, and Brianna’s cats. Following the post from Zach Bryan, Brianna made it known that she felt “blindsided” by the breakup, and soon after posted a video detailing how she had been “crying for five days straight” and needed to take some time away to process everything.
Brianna returned to social media to share pictures of a trip to Maine that she took with her friends and family. The much needed getaway also included a couple of emotional posts to Chickenfry’s story, with one saying “F**k men and kill ’em all.” It appears that the “Great Outdoors” vacation was supposed to be somewhat of a reset for Brianna, but according to some more recent posts from her, it’s going to take more time to get over the high-profile breakup.
She shared this message on her Instagram addressing the backlash that she didn’t publicly wish one her friends Happy Birthday and informing followers that she’s done sharing her personal life online:
“I haven’t had TikTok in months. But apparently all anyone does on there is talk about my life. So here ya go… I’m not interested in sharing my personal relationships online anymore because the internet so badly wants to ruin them all. Grace has been like a sister since I was 15 years old. I wished her a happy birthday privately.
I’m sorry but I’m having a week from hell and I’m tired of having to feel the need to explain myself to people who don’t know me. Love ya guys and that’s all there is to it. Not allowing the internet to take over my personal relationships anymore. Need to set some boundaries and keep some things for myself.”
In addition to those posts, the official TikTok page for the BFFs Pod – which Brianna Chickenfry hosts alongside Josh Richards and Barstool founder Dave Portnoy – shared a message from Bri explaining that they tried to get back to recording the popular podcast, but that Chickenfry was still too heartbroken to just resume normal activities.
The post read:
“Hey guys! We tried to record this week but I am having a very hard time figuring out how I want to handle this publicly due to all the backlash. I am going to put my mental health first this week.
Josh and Dave want to make sure I do what’s best for me. I need to prioritize the right things this week. I hope you all can understand.”
So, it seems as though Bri will continue to put herself first as she continues to navigate her breakup with Zach Bryan.
The BFFs Pod, as well as the Plan Bri Uncut podcast, will likely be on hold until Brianna feels enough like herself again to continue on with her media duties.
