Country music star accused of abuse; Ex says, ‘I’m still scared right now’
Brianna LaPaglia, known as Brianna Chickenfry, alleges she suffered abuse while in a year-long relationship with ex Zach Bryan.
She alleged on her “BFFs” podcast that she faced “narcissistic, emotional abuse” for a year before they broke up last month.
“The last year of my life has been the hardest year of my life,” she told cohosts Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards. “Dealing with the abuse from this dude, I’m still scared right now.
“My brain’s rewired, I’m scared to make him mad. “He made me believe everything was my fault. He isolated me from my whole entire life. He wouldn’t let me be who I wanted to be. He made me hate everything that I loved about myself.”
LaPaglia said she ignored multiple red flags, and it escalated.
“He manipulated the f-word out of me,” LaPaglia said. “I don’t expect people to understand emotional abuse if you haven’t been through it, and I hope you never have to go through, but if you’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about. It was just this constant cycle of, ‘Built you up, beat you down, apologize,’ over and over and over.”
LaPaglia said she refused $12 million to sign an NDA.
“I don’t want, in two years, to buy a f-ing house,” she said, “and think, ‘Oh, this is the money from the dude that literally f–king destroyed me and broke me for a year.’ F-word that.”
Last month, Bryan confirmed the couple’s split after just more than a year in a post. Bryan made the news public on Instagram.
“Addressing something,” Bryan wrote on Instagram, “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.”
LaPaglia, in an emotional video message via YouTube, said she’s been “blindsided” by the news, but she is focused on her healing.
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.