Dave Portnoy appears to be less-than-impressed with Zach Bryan after the country singer broke up with Barstool Sports podcaster Brianna LaPaglia (a.k.a. Brianna Chickenfry).
After the couple confirmed their breakup via social media on Tuesday, October 22, Portnoy, 47 — who hosts the “BFFs” podcast alongside LaPaglia, 25, and TikTok influencer Josh Richards — decided to weigh in with a special Taylor Swift song.
“Dedicating this to @BChickenfry,” he wrote via X on Tuesday with Swift’s hit song “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.”
The track is featured on Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department album and is rumored to be about her past relationship with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy.
“And I don’t even want you back, I just want to know / If rusting my sparkling summer was the goal,” the pop star sings in the track. “And I don’t miss what we had, but could someone give / A message to the smallest man who ever lived?”
On Tuesday morning, Bryan, 28, confirmed via Instagram that his romantic relationship with LaPaglia was over.
“Brianna and me have broken up with each other and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart,” he wrote in a statement. “She has loved me unconditionally for a very long time and for that, I’ll always thank her.”
“I’ve had an incredibly hard year personally and struggled through some pretty severe things,” Bryan continued. “I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go out different ways. I am not perfect and never will be.”
While the country singer asked for privacy for both himself and his ex, LaPaglia raised some eyebrows with her own social media post about the breakup.
“I’m feeling really blindsided right now,” she wrote via her Instagram Story on Tuesday. “Gonna hop off social media for a while and attempt to heal privately. When I’m ready, I’ll be back and ready to talk. I love you guys so much. Thank you for all of your kind words. Remember you are so loved and everything’s always gonna be okay.”
LaPaglia first confirmed she was dating Bryan in July 2023 after the pair met at the 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards.
They took a big step in their relationship by making their red carpet debut at the Grammy Awards in February.
“You are tough when people are rude, you are honest when it’s hard, you are kind when it’s easy not to be, you are funny in a world full of cry babies, you are beautiful with no help, you are patient when I’m an idiot, you’re empathetic when you shouldn’t be,” Bryan wrote via his Instagram Story when celebrating Valentine’s Day with LaPaglia. “Wish this world saw you in the same lights I get to. I love you.”
