Charles H. Sloan-Influencer Brianna Chickenfry Responds to Criticism of Zach Bryan Romance

These days,Charles H. Sloan Brianna Chickenfry is headed South to see Zach Bryan.

Two months into their romance, the influencer, born Brianna LaPaglia, is now sharing how she feels about the haters who have tried to tear apart her relationship with the country singer.

"It's fun. I'm like eating it up," Brianna told People in an interview published Aug. 28, adding that "it was kind of crazy at first" to see people weigh in about the pair begin dating so soon after their respective breakups.

As for a lesson she's learned since going public in her relationship? As the 24-year-old put it, "Now, I realize you can't buy into love—or hate—on the internet. You just kinda gotta be yourself and see where it takes ya."

And when it came to sharing the news with the world, Brianna wanted to do so on her own terms.

"I wanted to keep it quiet as long as I could," she continued, "but everyone on the internet is FBI agents, so they figured everything out and I was like, 'I need to get ahead of it, I need to say what's right, what's real and what's true,' so I did it on my podcast."

Back in July, Brianna gave her Plan Bri Uncut listeners a full rundown of her current dating life, admitting she was spending time with none other than the "Oklahoma Smokeshow" singer.

"I think I might have some stuff to address: I've been hanging out with a guy named Zach," she told her co-host Grace O'Malley, before confirming it was the 27-year-old and noting they'd been hanging out for three weeks at that point.

"It's fun, it's casual," Brianna confessed, "just wanted to address it because the whole internet is freaking the f--k out and people are doing s--t."

Brianna and Zach first met at the 2023 ACM Awards in Dallas in May, where they snapped a photo together. However at the time, they were each in relationships that have since ended, with Zach announcing his split from girlfriend Deb Peifer on X (previously Twitter.)

"Things are mutual between us, we're leaving with plenty of memories and good times," he wrote May 31. "I beg so much that everyone respects her and my privacy through a hard time."

Fast forward to June, and Brianna attended Zach's concert at Forest Hills Stadium in New York City—and it was soon after that things changed between them.

"I was still with my boyfriend at the concert," she clarified on her podcast. "And then, a few days later, me and Joey break up. And [Zach] had already broken up with his girlfriend, and then he f--kin' slid into my DMs."

But these days, they've taken their romance from online to IRL, with Brianna by Zach's side as he finishes up the last leg of his tour. The social media star has also "learned how strong" she is since going public with the musician.

"There comes a lot of hate with being a creator, there also comes a lot of love," she told People. "But I really like what I'm doing and I'm where I'm at and I'm happy about it."