Brianna ‘Chickenfry’ LaPaglia’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition photoshoot has predictably resulted in a flurry of direct messages from interested men, not that she’s complaining.
‘They were popping off. They’re fine,’ she joked to People.com at a SI event in Manhattan.
After her very public split with country star Zach Bryan last year, the Barstool Sports podcaster told People she’s enjoying the single life for the first time since she was a teenager.
‘I really genuinely enjoy being single,’ LaPaglia added. ‘I think there’s a lot of girls that can relate and a lot of guys that can relate that are relationship people.
‘I was in a relationship since I was 16 until 25,’ she continued. ‘Being single for the first time ever is frigging awesome. I can order Taco Bell whenever, I can do whatever I want to do. I can go out, I can hang out with my friends. It’s really fun. I feel like I’m figuring out who I am.’
LaPaglia, 25, posed for the latest digital cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit edition, flying to California for a photoshoot and giving an interview about her ambitions for the year ahead.
LaPaglia is starting 2025 with a bang after her public breakup with Zach Bryan last year
Barstool Sports podcaster Brianna LaPaglia has posed for a Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover
LaPaglia and Bryan, pictured at the Grammys in 2024, had a high profile split last year
Barstool founder Portnoy was a huge support to LaPaglia in her Zach Bryan break-up
And because she never signed a non-disclosure agreement with Bryan – usually a given in celebrity relationships these days – she’s free to talk about the emotional abuse she’s said she endured in their relationship.
‘I feel like I’m in that time zone where it’s like discover who you are, try new things and also leave a lot of negative things in the past,’ she said. ‘So I’m just trying to figure out who the hell I am — and it’s fun!
‘It shouldn’t be discouraging,’ LaPaglia continued. ‘I feel like we get to a certain age and we’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, there should be time marks and things for what we should do.’ I think there’s no time limit, and I’m just trying to figure it out.’
LaPaglia previously shot down rumors she was dating Barstool founder Dave Portnoy, who has publicly defended her amid her split from Bryan.
The Barstool Sports founder released a diss song called ‘Smallest Man’ and repeatedly went after him in podcast appearances, calling Bryan a ‘scumbag’ and ‘a piece of s***’.
