‘It’s me reclaiming who I am as a woman, reclaiming my body and my decisions and my choices,’ PlanBri Uncut podcast host says
Bryan talked her out of it, telling her it was “trashy” and “off-brand for her.”
But when the magazine came calling again, LaPaglia wasn’t going to say no.
“It’s a lot more than me looking quote-unquote hot in a swimsuit — it’s me reclaiming who I am as a woman, reclaiming my body and my decisions and my choices,” LaPaglia says. “This cover is me being me again and taking control of my life. This is my body; my body isn’t that experience, and even though I’m not 100% in it right now, this is me. This doesn’t have anything to do with anybody else.”
LaPaglia also said there was a bit of pettiness in taking part in the scintillating shoot.
After their breakup, LaPaglia claimed Bryan offered her $12 million if she agreed to sign a non-disclosure agreement swearing to not talk about their relationship or breakup.
LaPaglia said if she kept quiet about her relationship with Bryan she would have received “the money over the course of three years.”
“They would’ve been monitoring everything that I do,” she said. “I thought about it for a second and I think they tend to forget, I started to forget, that I was someone, I was established, I was successful, before (Bryan).”
The internet personality said that she was determined “to be someone” after their split and not let their messy breakup be a defining moment for her.
“Maybe I’m not going to be selling out stadiums and f***ing making hundreds of millions of dollars,” she said, referring to Bryan’s wildly successful musical career. “I’m all right where I’m at and I don’t want blood money. I don’t think you can pay people off that you hurt (and expect) for them to protect you … offering millions of dollars to this apparent beautiful relationship (and) keep it a secret, speaks volumes.”
LaPaglia said it was “f***ed up” that Bryan tried to buy her silence.
Portnoy said he advised her to take Bryan’s cash and she admitted that she wrestled with her decision.
“It was a moral battle … You look at my family, who obviously doesn’t have money and comes from nothing and they’re like, ‘Take the money,’” she said.
LaPaglia added: “This episode of me not taking the money, like, it’s not just for me. It’s for anyone else that’s been emotionally abused. It’s for people right now that are being emotionally abused. It’s for people that don’t have a support system that I was luckily enough to have going through this.”
In her interview with SI, LaPaglia said she has come to see herself as a spokeswoman for people going through emotional abuse in their relationships.
“During the hardest time of my life, it’s probably been one of the most rewarding things that has ever happened to me, to be able to help people in a way that I feel is a lot more meaningful than what my old content was,” LaPaglia said. “I know posting silly stuff and having fun videos for people to watch is also helpful, and it helps people get out of the reality, but to actually change lives with coming forward and being able to give people a shoulder to lean on, or a person to cry to, it’s just out of this world.”