In a private ceremony on New Year’s Eve, country artist Zach Bryan married Samantha Leonard in San Sebastian, Spain. The ceremony was held in the beautiful Basilica de Santa Maria del Coro, a baroque Roman Catholic church.
Rumors swirled as the first reports of the event were posted early Dec. 31, 2025 to a celebrity gossip TikTok account, which featured a video of Bryan carrying Leonard into a car adorned with a “Just Married” sign on the back. The couple was then seen swiftly leaving the celebration surrounded by friends and family.
The GRAMMY winner publicly shared the news hours later via Instagram, posting a black-and-white photo of the happy couple that appeared to be taken during the reception. He also included a clip of himself performing the Springsteen classic, “Tougher than the Rest,” on stage during the celebration and captioned the post after the song title.
The pair was first linked in July 2025 when Leonard shared a photo of the two attending Spain’s Running of the Bulls. While most of their relationship has remained private, Bryan shared an Instagram carousel of photos and videos of Leonard in October 2025 in honor of her birthday. He captioned the post: “From bull runs to all the bullsh*t, today is your day, and I love you Samantha Marie.”
For the ceremony, the bride wore a custom-designed, handmade dress by Cavanah Baker, said to be “crafted with over 30 yards of French Chantilly lace and 600 lace-covered buttons.”
Bryan, whose recent album With Heaven on Top was just released on Jan. 9, references his new bride — amongst other past relationships — on several tracks.
The Bryan is no stranger to his personal life being made public; he’s been previously linked to ex-wife Rose Madden in 2020, Hannah Duncan in early 2025, and Internet personality Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia from 2023 to 2024. Following their breakup in October 2024, LaPaglia publicly accused Bryan of emotional abuse and claimed he offered her 12 million to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
While Bryan hasn’t directly addressed these claims, shortly after the allegations were made public, he posted a quote from Jack Kerouac about “not owing the world an explanation,” followed by a photo of a horse.
Soon after Bryan’s wedding details were released, fans couldn’t help but draw the alarming similarities between Bryan’s wife, Leonard, and his ex-girlfriend, LaPaglia. Barstool Sports founder, Dave Portnoy, even commented under TMZ’s X post announcing the news about Bryan and saying “there ain’t no way that ain’t a Brianna robot. Ain’t no way.”
While LaPaglia hasn’t publicly responded to the wedding, fans quickly noticed a TikTok posted to LaPaglia’s account on Jan. 2. The video featured LaPaglia mouthing the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s 2022 song, “Mastermind.”
The clip she used included the lyrics, “Checkmate, I couldn’t lose.” Users were quick to flood Brianna’s comments in support of LaPaglia, and many congratulated her on “dodging a bullet.”
During the reception, Bryan performed the Bruce Springsteen single, “Tougher than the Rest,” a track released on Springsteen’s 1987 album, Tunnel of Love. A few lines of the song include, “Well, round here baby / I’ve learned you get what you can get / So if you’re rough enough for love / Honey I’m tougher than the rest.”
Bryan also revealed on his Instagram that Leonard included his late mother’s wedding dress in her own. “Samantha went out of her way to put my mom’s wedding dress lace on her dress, and I cried for a good bit,” Bryan wrote. “Meant so much, sweetheart, thank you.”
Leonard also shared the beautiful ceremony via her Instagram with the caption “forever xx.” The photos revealed the couple standing at the altar in front of beautiful floral arrangements, religious art, and intricate architecture, iconic to the Basilica.
The Basilica of Santa Maria Del Coro, or more commonly known as Santa Maria, was built as a reconstruction of an ancient Romanesque church that was originally Gothic Renaissance style. The basilica honors the Virgin of the Choir, Virgel del Coro, and stands as the city’s oldest church, being officially completed in 1774.
The “Pink Skies” singer recently shared more photos from the special day and an ode to his late mother via Instagram on Jan. 22. He shared the heartfelt caption, “I reckon you’d have loved this and her,” he wrote:
“Wish you could have seen us smiling like kids when we met on that Spanish beach. She loves a man only a mother could. Maybe you’re in that Spanish moon. I’ll see you soon enough, till then I’ll tell her you love her.”
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