Country sensation Zach Bryan skipped the 58th annual Country Music Awards on Wednesday night following his messy split from Brianna ‘Chickenfry’ LaPaglia.
Despite being nominated for the Musical Event of the Year category for his and Kacey Musgraves’ duet I Remember Everything, the Something in the Orange hitmaker, 28, left the red carpet to stay home with his beloved Labrador, Jack Daniels.
Instead of mingling with his fellow nominees like Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton and Megan Moroney, Bryan shared photos of himself enjoying a “rainy day” on country music’s biggest night.
As his industry colleagues went into a frenzy, the Grammy winner took to Instagram to post images of himself playing guitar at home and photos of a rocky beach at sunset.
While he didn’t provide any explanation for his absence from the CMA Awards, Bryan is fresh from his split from LaPaglia, claiming he was “blindsided” at the end of their yearlong romance.
The former dated for a year before he announced their split on his Instagram Stories – days after fans speculated they had gone their separate ways after a Reddit user claimed to have seen him on celebrity dating app Raya.
Country singer Zach Bryan skipped the Country Music Awards on Wednesday night following his messy divorce from Brianna Chickenfry LaPaglia
On Sunday, Brianna, who is now dating Conor Wilson, claimed Zach launched objects at her face after she became angry because he posted an image of a pet they once shared on social media.
“If this man posts this damn cat again I’m going to post videos of you hitting your shit in my face,” she said. “So can you stop posting my cat and rubbing it in my face?”
In response to Barstool Sports head Dave Portnoy’s call for her to “Post it!!!!!” Chickenfry, 25, said she would “just send it straight to” him.
Chickenfry, whose real name is Brianna LaPaglia, later deleted the clip; As of Sunday evening, no recent images of a cat had been posted to Bryan’s Instagram page.
Chickenfry said in a TikTok post on Nov. 11 that Bryan took her cat with him after their breakup: “I miss Stump so much – I want to fucking kidnap him.
“But when he left and didn’t tell me anything, he took Stump with him, kind of out of spite. He didn’t even like cats.’
Chickenfry previously alleged that Bryan subjected her to “narcissistic, emotional abuse” during their relationship, which began in July 2023 and ended last month when she left his mansion in Massachusetts.
She also claims she refused to sign a nondisclosure agreement after their ugly breakup.
Chickenfry turned down a life-changing $12 million NDA settlement offer from Bryan following the couple’s very public split last month.
Despite being nominated for the Musical Event of the Year category for his and Kacey Musgraves’ I Remember Everything duet, the 28-year-old Something in the Orange hitmaker left the red carpet to stay home with his beloved Labrador, Jack Daniels
In a post last Friday, Chickenfry said Bryan picked out an engagement ring for her while he was “cheating the whole time.”
Zach first announced on his Instagram Stories on October 22 that they had split after more than a year, with a lengthy statement.
The announcement came a day after fans speculated that the duo had gone their separate ways after a Reddit user claimed to have seen Zach on celebrity dating app Raya with photos of his alleged profile, alongside a mysterious message shared by Chickenfry .
The country singer, who started dating Brianna in July 2023, posted to his account on Tuesday: ‘Addressing something: Brianna and I have broken up with each other (sic) and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart. She has loved me unconditionally for a long time and for that I will always be grateful.”
Instead of mingling with his fellow nominees like Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton and Megan Moroney, Bryan shared photos of himself enjoying a “rainy day” on country music’s biggest night
While his industry peers were getting glammed up, the Grammy winner took to Instagram to post images of himself playing guitar at home, as well as photos of a rocky beach at sunset.
“I’ve personally had an incredibly difficult year and have struggled through some pretty serious things. I thought it would be helpful for both of us to date in different ways. I am not perfect and never will be,” he continued in his statement.
“Please respect Brianna’s privacy and space in this, and if it’s in your heart, mine too.”
“I’m sorry for everything I am and everyone I’ve let down. I do my best in everything. I have failed people who love me, especially myself.”
About 30 minutes after Zach posted, the Barstool Sports star posted her statement.
While she didn’t say anything about the breakup, she seemed to allude to her breakup with Zach, saying she felt “really blindsided” at the moment.
The confirmation of the split came amid fan speculation that the couple had gone their separate ways.
While he didn’t provide any explanation for his absence from the CMA Awards, Bryan is fresh from his split from LaPaglia, claiming he was “blindsided” at the end of their yearlong romance.
The former dated for a year before he announced their split on his Instagram Stories – days after fans speculated they had gone their separate ways after a Reddit user claimed to have seen him on celebrity dating app Raya
The breakup speculation arose after a Reddit user shared photos of Zach’s alleged Raya profile.
Additionally, Brianna posted a mysterious handwritten message that only fueled the speculation.
“And in the end, you will find that life goes on even when you don’t want it to,” the message read. ‘The days will pass and the world will be moving while you ask it to stop.
“You will believe that life is cruel if you continue with your feet stuck.
Zach first announced on his Instagram Stories on October 22 that they had split after more than a year, along with a lengthy statement
The announcement came a day after fans speculated that the duo had gone their separate ways after a Reddit user claimed to have seen Zach on celebrity dating app Raya with photos of his alleged profile, alongside a mysterious message shared by Chickenfry
“You will find people and moments blamed for your concrete feet.
Brianna confirmed they were dating in July 2023 on her podcast, PlanBri Uncut.
While speaking to her co-host Grace, the media personality said, “I think I might have some things to discuss. I’ve been hanging out with a guy named Zach.”
She then clarified that he was Zach and that the two had been seeing each other for “three weeks.”
She added, “It’s fun, it’s casual, and yeah, I just wanted to discuss it because the whole internet is freaking out and people are doing stuff,” Brianna said during the episode titled The Cat’s Out of the Bag.
After confirming their relationship, the then-couple made their red carpet debut at the Grammy Awards in February.