Brianna LaPaglia Promises No-Drama Realness in New Era of ‘BFFs’ Podcast With Cohost Josh Richards

The ‘BFFs’ podcast will be going in a different direction with more ‘real-life' conversations at the forefront, LaPaglia tells us.

Brianna LaPaglia was photographed by Katherine Gougen at The Austin Estate. Swimsuit by Christopher Esber. / Katherine Gougen/Sports Illustrated

Brianna LaPaglia is leaving things of the past in the rearview mirror as she steps into a new era for both herself and her podcast with cohost Josh Richards, BFFs.

BFFs, a podcast launched in 2020 by Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, served as a place for him and his cohosts to talk about everything under the sun including current events, controversial topics and whatever else came to mind. The show continued to flourish, however, Portnoy decided it was time for him to exit four years later. In this next chapter, LaPaglia and Richards want to take things in a new direction, specifically replacing the “drama” with untapped horizons.

While on set for her Sports Illustrated Swimsuit debut photo shoot in La Quinta, Calif., LaPaglia, who serves as the January digital cover star, gave us a tease at what we can expect.

“BFFs is turning into a whole new show. We have such good guests coming on,” she says. “It’s going to be less drama-based and more real-life based, giving people a platform based and more so really involved in me and Josh’s friendship and our real lives. It’s going to have a really different feel and I think in some way it’s going to feel even more like BFFs, because it’s going to get to showcase Josh and I’s friendship a lot more closer and personally.”

“It’s going to be a big win for my friends and family to get me back to a place where they feel like I’m me again,” LaPaglia added.

Feeling like herself again is a goal LaPaglia never wants to lose sight of, especially after her turbulent relationship with country singer Zach Bryan.

After meeting in 2023, LaPaglia confirmed on an episode of the BFFs podcast a couple of months later that she and Bryan were dating. Fast forward to Oct. 2024 and the pair had split, with Bryan taking to social media to break the news, explaining his “incredibly hard year” was to blame. About a month later, LaPaglia accused Bryan of emotional abuse. “The last year of my life has been the hardest year of my life dealing with the abuse from this dude,” LaPaglia shared on an episode of BFFs.

LaPaglia’s relationship with Bryan was a topic often brought up on BFFs, but now, she’s looking to shine the spotlight on special guests for different types of conversations. We can’t wait to see what’s all in store.

Read LaPaglia’s cover story here and see her stunning photo shoot images here.

Check back with us at SI Swimsuit tomorrow for our full interview with LaPaglia on the set of her brand debut.