What happened to Florida Georgia Line? Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard's split and feud explained

23 April 2024, 16:14

Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, former partners in the Florida Georgia Line band, enjoyed significant success in the realm of country music.

However, despite their achievements on stage, their relationship encountered rough patches behind the scenes.

Establishing their duo in 2010, Hubbard and Kelley soared to prominence with their inaugural hit, 'Cruise' in 2012.

• Brian Kelley "poured my heart and soul" into new album after going solo
• Tyler Hubbard focused about his solo career but says "never say never" to FGL reunion

Following the release of four studio albums spanning from 2012 to 2019, their dynamic took a public turn in 2020. This shift occurred when Tyler Hubbard and his wife, Hayley, chose to unfollow his bandmate on social media.

Speculation arose swiftly among fans, attributing this rift to political disparities. Tyler and Hayley openly supported Kamala Harris, while Brian, wed to Brittney Kelley, criticized supporters of Joe Biden.

The two men spoke about the social media drama in an interview with SiriusXM’s Exit 209: “I unfollowed BK for a few days while we were through this political, you know, in the middle of this election and everything going on,” Tyler said.

Brian Kelley "poured my heart and soul" into new album after going solo

“And, and I even called him and told him, I said, ‘Hey buddy, I love you. And I love you a lot more in real life than on your stories right now. So I’m just going to, so that’s why I’m unfollowing you. Nothing personal. I still love you. You’re still my brother.’ I just didn’t want to see it every time I opened Instagram. And so it wasn’t a big deal.”

Following the release of their fifth studio album, Life Rolls On, in 2021, the musicians suggested the possibility of a hiatus in 2022 to pursue solo endeavours.

Brian emphasized that this hiatus did not signify a permanent split, but rather a temporary break. Nonetheless, he later insinuated that there were no definitive plans for the duo to collaborate further beyond their summer 2022 tour.

2020

After Tyler unfollowed Brian in November 2020, their wives then got involved as Hayley also unfollowed her husband’s bandmate.

Brittney then extended the drama by sharing a series of cryptic quotes via Instagram Stories, including one that read: “Real friends don’t always agree with [you] but they do respect your right to have an opinion.”

In an Instagram video on the same day, Brittney added: “A lot of people need to look up the definition of a democracy and bipartisanship and learn that.”

Tyler later refollowed Brian.

Days later, the pair addressed the controversy in a joint interview, with Tyler admitting that there have been “hard times” between them.

“It's not all sugar-coated. And so the truth is, and I think this is important to talk about, me and BK have done the work,” he said.

2021

Brian released his first solo album titled Sunshine State Of Mind in June.

“Me and Tyler, individually, we appreciate all of the support,” he told CMT. “I think this is the next natural step. We didn’t expect this to happen. We’re excited. Tyler’s killing the writing game. I think he’s also working on an album. I don’t know when that’s coming out, but I can’t wait to hear that and see what it does.

"I think we’re both two unique individuals. I love what we both do separately. I love what we do together, and it’s cool to give our fans and all the fans something different. I think this is a version of that.”

2022

“I think ‘taking a break’ is the proper term, as opposed to breaking up,” Tyler explained to People in 2022.

A few months later, he released his first solo song, '5 Foot 9'.

“I don’t know after that what the plan is,” Brian said about their plans after their summer tour. “It’s not clear to me. At the end of the day, we’re brothers, so we’ll always have each other‘s back and support, and that’s what it should be.”

Tyler Hubbard focused about his solo career but says "never say never" to Florida Georgia Line reunion

With rumours of a breakup swirling, Tyler appeared on The Storme Warren Show, opening up about why he wanted a solo music career.

“I think [personal expression is] definitely part of it. But also, you mentioned kind of being under the umbrella of a band or a brand, it sort of puts you in a box to not be able to go super deep personally,” he said.

“So, you can connect with the fans, but you can only go so deep because you have respect and you wanna understand that, you know, maybe you and your bandmates aren’t all on the exact same season of life and you can’t. It allows us to just go deeper, which I think is, after 10 years of kind of only getting to go so deep, I just think is extremely healthy and energizing.”

Their final show together occurred at the Minnesota State Fair on August 31. "You've enabled us to chase this crazy dream of writing songs and playing shows and hoping somebody will show up to listen, so thank you, guys. It means the world to us," Tyler told the crowd.

He called the moment "the closing of an incredible, incredible chapter" for himself and Brian. "It's very exciting for us to look at what's ahead, see what's next. And the next chapter ahead is very exciting, but we wanna celebrate this chapter with you guys."

2023

Tyler opened up about the real reason behind the split. He told Rolling Stone: “I’d be naïve to say it had nothing to do with differences of opinion and difference of geographic location and nothing to do with social media, but the decision would have been the same, regardless.

“BK came to me and said this is what I’m doing. He initiated the solo thing and asked for my support. I told BK I want you to do what you need to do to make you happy, and I’ll figure out what I’m doing after that. But I wasn’t willing to continue making FGL records and go sign another FGL deal if we were going to do solo stuff. I didn’t have the capacity for both.

He added: “Because it was [Kelley] who initiated it and he didn’t want to be super direct with the fans about what was going on — because it would have meant [the breakup] was really happening — we chose to not overshare and really not disclose anything at all.

"I felt like it wasn’t my story to tell and so I didn’t, and I stayed silent, which is really hard for me. But that teed everyone up to create their own narratives. In the polarizing culture we were in, it was easy to throw it on politics, it was easy to throw it on ‘our wives aren’t getting along,’ or unfollows. But, dude, do you really think we’re going to let our whole organization crumble because of some Instagram post?”.

2024

Brian released a new single titled 'Kiss My Boots' in March 2024, with lyrics that massively hinted at him being wronged by someone and “throwin’ dirt'' on his name.

“Want the world to know that you did me wrong / I don’t know how you act sweet, after how you did me / Here’s a middle finger to you through a song,” he sang.

Tyler Hubbard - Back Then Right Now (Official Music Video)

In the music video, Brian hunts a snake before showing a close-up of his belt, which read 'Florida'.

While Brian hasn't officially confirmed whether the song is about Tyler or not, he also hasn't denied it.

With Tyler then releasing his next album Strong, he spoke to Smooth Country about whether they could reunite.

"I think at this point, we're pretty focused on our solo careers and really not looking back. I'm having a tonne of fun, really feeling re-energized from this new season and getting to connect with the fans on a personal level.

"I've always said, never say never. I think there's always a chance for anything to happen. But at the same time, I'm pretty happy where I'm at and really enjoying this season. I'm pretty focused on this and going to continue to do the solo artist thing."

Brian Kelley - Kiss My Boots (Official Music Video)

When speaking to Smooth Country himself, Brian said: "It's like coming from a duo that's great, and it's so collaborative, and it's so the two of you, or if you're in a band or a group, it's. Everybody intertwined all your influences, and just the whole thing is so different.

"So when it comes to just being a solo artist, I think people can really attach themselves to just one thing. Hey, here's what I'm singing about. Here's my values. Here's how me and my wife live our lives. Here's what I'm singing about. Here's how I sound personally. Here's my voice. And so I take a lot of pride in that, too."

It remains to be seen whether Florida Georgia Line will reunite anytime soon, but as of April 2024, things seem pretty frosty between the pair.