Brianna LaPaglia accuses ex-boyfriend Zach Bryan of abuse

Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia has accused her ex-boyfriend Zach Bryan of emotional abuse while they were together.

LaPaglia, 25, made the allegations on BFF’s podcast co-hosting with Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards on Thursday, Nov. 7, she opens up about her relationship with Bryan, 29, for the first time since the country star announced their split on Oct. 22. She did not elaborate on the exact nature of the alleged abuse.

Reps for LaPaglia and Bryan did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

“The last year of my life has been the hardest year of my life dealing with the abuse of this guy,” LaPaglia said, referring to Bryan.

“I’m still scared right now because I’m scared of him,” she continued. “My brain is rewired and I’m scared of making him mad and last week I didn’t want to talk about it because I was scared.”

LaPaglia also claimed that the women who were previously in relationships with Bryan were forced to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) to prevent them from publicly discussing their own experiences with him.

“You made the women before me believe they had no choice but to take money from you,” LaPaglia alleged. “(They) signed off on their experiences and what they went through (so) you get to jump out and sing you little f— songs on stage like you’re a good guy.”

LaPaglia said she decided to open up about her alleged experiences “to anyone else who has been emotionally abused and to people who are currently being emotionally abused.”

“It’s for anyone who doesn’t have a support system like I had thankfully gone through this,” she continued. “This is not like some drama for me, it’s not me not signing the NDA or not taking the money because I want to come here and reveal who he is and all that… I’m not signing away my experiences and what I went through to protect someone who hurt me and I’m much stronger than a weak man, f– you and f— your money.”

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Bryan and LaPaglia met at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2023 and officially began dating in July 2023. Bryan confirmed their split on Instagram on October 22 and asked everyone to respect his and LaPaglia’s privacy.

“Brianna and I have broken up with (each other) and I respect and love her with all my heart,” Bryan wrote. “She’s loved me unconditionally for a very long time and I’ll always thank her for that. I’ve personally had an incredibly tough year and struggled through some pretty difficult things. I thought it would be beneficial for both of us to go our separate ways different ways.”

LaPaglia felt “blindsided” by the news, she wrote in an Instagram Stories post, adding that she planned to “jump off social media for a while and try 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 your kind words,” LaPaglia continued. “Remember, you are so loved and everything will always be okay.”