Zach Bryan has faced a few public controversies since blowing up with the release of his album *American Heartbreak.* Bryan gained a following after he began releasing his own music online in 2017. He released two albums before 2022’s *American Heartbreak*, his first record with a major label, skyrocketed him to the top of the charts. Despite his nearly overnight success, Bryan has attempted to set himself apart from the country music genre.
“I don’t want to be a country musician. Everyone calls me it. I want to be a songwriter, and you’re quintessentially a songwriter,” he said in a conversation with Bruce Springsteen published by *Rolling Stone* in October 2024. “No one calls Bruce Springsteen — hate to use your name in front of you — but no one calls Bruce Springsteen a freaking rock musician, which you are one, but you’re also an indie musician, you’re also a country musician. You’re all these things encapsulated in one man. And that’s what songwriting is.”
Along with winning over listeners with his music — Bryan dropped six albums and three EPs from 2019 to 2024 — the songwriter has fans invested in his personal life. In October 2024, he announced his split from Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia after more than one year of dating — and LaPaglia later claimed that she was “blindsided.”
Singer Zach Bryan’s Dating History
“I’ve been crying for, like, five days straight,” she said in a YouTube video after news broke of their split. “I’m at the point where it’s, like, how can you give someone everything and, like, love them so unconditionally through stuff that you shouldn’t.”
In his own statement, Bryan acknowledged, “I’ve 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 out different ways. I am not perfect and never will be.”
Scroll down for a look back at Bryan’s highs and lows in the spotlight:
# Early Music and Viral Success
Bryan got his start on YouTube in 2017, uploading videos of himself singing. Among the first songs he shared were “God Speed,” a tune that made its way onto his debut album, and “Heading South,” which soon went viral.
Bryan’s first album, *DeAnn*, was released in August 2019 and named after his late mother, who died three years prior. He performed his first live show in the fall of 2019 in Oregon before dropping his second album, *Elisabeth*, in 2020. He followed with *American Heartbreak* in 2022.
# Legal Troubles and Social Media Controversies
Bryan made headlines in September 2023 when he was arrested in Oklahoma on an obstruction of investigation charge. He was released on bail shortly after his arrest and subsequently addressed the ordeal via social media.
“Today I had an incident with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Emotions got the best of me and I was out of line in the things I said,” he wrote at the time. “I support law enforcement as much as anyone can, I was just frustrated in the moment, it was unlike me and I apologize. They brought me to jail, and there is a mug shot of me floating around.”
In a separate post, Bryan acknowledged that the authorities “didn’t play favorites” due to his star status. “I was an idiot today and my decisions did not reflect who I was as a person and I just wanna make that clear and I should’ve been smarter about it,” he added, insisting that he doesn’t “think [he’s] above the law” but owning up to “being disrespectful.”
Bryan’s mugshot was later used as the cover of Spotify’s “Outlaw” playlist.
Along with legal troubles, Bryan has raised eyebrows for his social media activity. In September 2024, Bryan was called out for tweeting “Kanye > Taylor… Who’s with me” but quickly backtracked his remarks.
“Guys I love Taylor,” Bryan wrote. “[I] was listening to TTPD last night and ‘Thank You Aimee’ came on and I drunkenly tweeted that about Kanye. If anyone took it serious please know I love both artists a lot and think we’re in a really beautiful time of music. Don’t drink and tweet. Don’t drink and tweet!!” he concluded.
Bryan has been known to clap back at trolls over the years, previously slamming “pieces of trash” online who alleged, “Zach Bryan is what happens when you don’t discipline your kids.”
“Don’t ever insult my parents, don’t ever insult anyone’s parents,” he wrote in an August 2024 Instagram Story.
# Brianna Chickenfry Breakup
Bryan announced in October 2024 that he and LaPaglia called it quits after more than one year of dating — and LaPaglia later claimed that she was “blindsided” by the breakup and would be stepping away from social media in order “to heal privately.” Later that day, she addressed the split in a YouTube video.
“How can you, like, give every ounce of yourself to someone and then, like, be discarded of in a few days?” she said. “It’s really, really heartbreaking, and I don’t want to talk about details right now.”
# Fight With Gavin Adcock
Bryan and fellow country singer Adcock seemingly got into a heated argument during the Born & Raised Festival in Oklahoma in September 2025.
“Hey, you want to fight like a man? Wanna open the gates?” Bryan told Adcock from across a barbed wire fence in viral footage on social media. “You want me to throw a beer or something?”
Bryan pounded on the fence before climbing it to Adcock’s side, where he was held back by security guards.
Adcock shared footage of the moment via Instagram and wrote, “When you get death threats from Sack Cryin’ before you headline in his hometown. … Eat a Snickers, bro.”
Bryan has yet to publicly address the incident. Us Weekly reached out for comment.
Adcock and Bryan’s altercation came after the pair had feuded over the summer. Their beef began when Adcock called out Bryan for allegedly not agreeing to meet with a young fan after a concert.
“If you can’t handle the criticism of a 14 year old, why do people idolize you?” Adcock wrote via X in July. “That kid was head over heels to meet you and spent/ parents spent a ton of money to see you. He’s got feeling too and a you’re a ‘grown man’ nearly 30. They’re the only reason you are around.”
Bryan seemingly addressed the controversy in a since-deleted post on X.
“You’re not entitled after someone plays two and a half hours to a picture or a hello,” he wrote. “I went out and took pictures both night one and three. I had a third show the next day and it was late, needed to rest.”
Adcock then doubled down on his comments during an August 2025 appearance on the “Nashville Now” podcast.
“It wasn’t about not wanting to sign autographs after a show, it’s like letting a 14-year-old kid rant, without saying, ‘Get off my d*.’ You’re bigger than that,” Adcock said. “I think that Zach Bryan puts on a big mask in his day-to-day life and sometimes he can’t help but rip it off and show his true colors. I don’t know if Zach Bryan’s really that great of a person.”
