meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Couple Things with Shawn and Andrew

Surviving Special Forces with Brianna LaPaglia: Our Story

Couple Things with Shawn and Andrew

Shawn Johnson + Andrew East

Society & Culture

5.039.9K Ratings

🗓️ 19 February 2026

⏱️ 49 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, we sit down with Brianna LaPaglia (Brianna Chickenfry) for one of her most honest conversations yet. She opens up about her life, the relationships that shaped her, and what it was really like to face the grueling challenges of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. Brianna shares moments the cameras didn’t capture, the obstacles that pushed her to her limits, and the lessons she took away from an experience that changed her forever. On top of that, we dive into our unexpected friendship, how it started, and the bond that grew out of shared experiences. Laughs, raw honesty, and real-life stories make this conversation one you won’t want to miss!! Whether you’re a fan of reality TV, curious about the life of Brianna Chickenfry, or just love real, unfiltered conversations about life, love, and resilience, this episode has something for you. We love you Brianna!! Love you guys, Shawn & Andrew (00:00) all about brianna (01:06) end of an era (03:37) the start of her journey (05:57) the “party” background (09:33) why special forces (12:27) andrew’s soapbox (14:28) negative self-talk & healing (19:37) the impact of the internet (23:00) toughest special forces challenge (26:30) what really happened during “murder ball” (31:29) bri’s creative process & heart for family (39:17) how bri almost lost her leg (41:32) hobbies, work, goals & purpose (44:20) most shocking & favorite moments from special forces Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

What's up, everybody? Welcome back to a couple things, interviews.

0:02.6

With Sean and Andrew.

0:03.5

Today we have one of our favorites, Brianna LaPaglia, who you guys might know as Brianna Chicken Fry.

0:11.2

That's right.

0:12.1

But we know her from Special Forces, where we very quickly got thrown into Navy SEAL training

0:19.1

and got to know the most vulnerable sides of each other.

0:24.1

And she also punched my face in.

0:26.6

Yeah, we didn't know her nine months ago.

0:28.5

And then our first 10 days together were really intense.

0:30.7

And so I feel like we know each other pretty well now.

0:33.0

And we've got to see her in New York City and Los Angeles and a couple different times over the past

0:38.5

nine months. It's been a real treat. So we wanted to sit down to interview her. This is kind of

0:42.7

still part of the special forces series where we interview Gia and Teresa Jude Ice and several other

0:49.8

recruits on the show. But this one's full of giggles, laughs. I think some really good moments on this interview as well. So we hope you enjoy it. And if you want to find out more about Brianna and what she's up to, we'll link her information down below. Thank you for the time, Brie. And hope you enjoy this one with Brianna La Pagria. Great. How was your last episode? Wait, what do you mean? yesterday you filmed filmed your last episode? Oh my God, yeah, I did. I was like, what are you talking about? Because I've been doing so many podcasts. It was, I cried. We did a six-hour live stream. And, uh, what? Yeah, it was guys, I didn't go to bed until, so I was up that morning at six. I came home at like two in the morning.

1:28.6

We did a six-hour live stream.

1:31.1

Why was it so long?

1:32.5

We couldn't say goodbye.

1:35.6

You were emotional?

1:36.9

Yeah, I cried a lot.

1:38.0

What made you so sad?

1:38.9

It was just like an end of an era.

1:40.3

Yeah, I guess I didn't really comprehend.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Shawn Johnson + Andrew East, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Shawn Johnson + Andrew East and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.