Is Florida Georgia Line Breaking Up? Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley’s Drama Through the Years
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Florida Georgia Line bandmates Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley have achieved major success in country music, but behind the scenes, it wasn’t always peachy between them.
Hubbard and Kelley founded their duo in 2010 and broke records with their debut single, “Cruise” in 2012. After releasing four studio albums from 2012 to 2019, they made headlines in 2020 when Tyler and his wife, Hayley Hubbard, unfollowed his bandmate. Fans were quick to assume that political differences put a wedge between them as Tyler and Hayley were vocal supporters of Kamala Harris and Brian, who is married to Brittney Kelley, slammed Joe Biden supporters.
The two men addressed the social media drama in a joint interview on 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 told Storme Warren. “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.”
While they went on to release their fifth studio album, Life Rolls On, in 2021, the musicians hinted at a hiatus in 2022, launching solo careers. Brian clarified at the time that they are “not going their separate ways” but rather taking a “break.” However, months later, he hinted that there were no plans for the twosome to work together after wrapping their summer 2022 tour.
Scroll through for a timeline of their ups and downs:
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2020
When Tyler unfollowed Brian in November 2020, their spouses got involved as Hayley also unfollowed her husband’s bandmate. Brittney, meanwhile, fueled the fire 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 later that same day, Brittney added, “A lot of people need to look up the definition of a democracy and bipartisanship and learn that.”
Tyler later re-followed Brian amid fan attention.
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2020
Days after unfollow-gate made headlines, the pair addressed the controversy during a joint interview, with Tyler admitting that there have been “hard times” between them in the past. “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.
In an Instagram video later that same day, Brittney added, “A lot of people need to look up the definition of a democracy and bipartisanship and learn that.”
Tyler later re-followed Brian amid fan attention.
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2021
Brian released a solo album titled Sunshine State Of Mind in June.
“Me and Tyler, individually, we appreciate all of the support,” he told CMT at the time. “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.”
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2022
“I think ‘taking a break’ is the proper term, as opposed to breaking up,” Tyler told People in February 2022.
Months later, he released his first solo song, “5 Foot 9,” in May 2022.
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2022
“I don’t know after that what the plan is,” Brian admitted in May 2022 about their future as a band post-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.”
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2022
Amid band breakup speculation, Tyler went on the The Storme Warren Show that June, where he opened up about why he wanted to pursue 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 explained at the time. “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.”
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2022
The duo played their last Florida Georgia Line show together 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, calling 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.”
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2024
Kelley released a single titled “Kiss My Boots” in March 2024 with lyrics that 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 on the track.
In the music video, Kelley hunted a snake before showing a close-up of his belt, which read “Florida.” Fans were quick to question whether Kelley was throwing shade at Hubbard.
Two months later, Hubbard hinted that it wasn’t his decision for Florida Georgia Line to come to an end.
“For me, it was really unexpected,” Hubbard said on a May episode of the “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast. “But BK came to me and said, ‘Man, I’m really feeling like I want to do a solo thing.’ And I’m like, ‘Really?’ We were just getting out of our first deal. We were kind of in a sweet spot that we had worked for 10 years to get to.”
He added: “He was adamant, like, ‘Nah, now’s my time. I really need to do this for myself.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, hey, whatever you need to do, bro. Like, what do you want from me?’ He’s like, ‘I just want support.'”
Hubbard didn’t rule out a reunion down the line, adding, “Like, we’ve had an incredible ride. This is where it’s going to go. Like, let’s do it and crush it, and you never know. Maybe it’ll bring us back together and we can have a reunion tour or whatever.”
