Untangling Zac Brown and Kelly Yazdi’s Brief Marriage and Complicated Breakup
Zac Brown and Kelly Yazdi's slow dance together has come to an end.
Last fall, the pair, who tied the knot in August after getting engaged the year prior, announced they were going their separate ways after four months of marriage. And at the time, they stressed their relationship had ended amicably.
"We are in the process of divorce," they first announced in December with a joint statement to Billboard. "Our mutual respect for one another remains. We wish each other the best and will always appreciate our time together. As we navigate this personal matter, we simply request privacy during this time."
However, in the months since then, Zac, 45, and Kelly's split has grown exceedingly contentious. The "Fried Chicken" singer filed a lawsuit against Kelly on May 17 demanding she take down an Instagram post that he argued tarnished his public image and violated a confidentiality agreement she signed in August 2022.
In addition to seeking an emergency temporary restraining order to remove the post, Zac, who shares five kids with ex-wife Shelly Brown, asked the court to prevent Kelly from "making any defamatory, false, untrue, or otherwise damaging statements," per court documents obtained by NBC News.
Kelly, 33, responded with a scathing social media message, rebuking the lawsuit, which she called "unnecessary" and "legally meritless."
"No one—not even Zac Brown with all of his money, power, celebrity, and lawyers," she captioned a May 19 TikTok video, "may silence my right to freely express myself through art or, although I have to date declined to do so publicly, to speak about the circumstances of our pending divorce."
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Amid the ongoing legal proceedings between the estranged couple, read on for a full breakdown of their relationship and breakup.
Prior to his romance with Kelly Yazdi, Zac Brown was married to Shelly Brown. The former couple, who share five kids, ended their 12-year marriage in 2018.
"We feel blessed to be on such an incredible journey in life and sometimes the journey begins to lead in different directions. It is with deep love and respect that we announce we are separating as a couple," told E! News in October 2018. "This was a difficult decision, but we've done plenty of tough things together and this is our next venture — love, mutual respect, and care for each other are what we are moving forward with."
Zac and Kelly kept their relationship out of the spotlight, but in July 2022 she was seen with the Zac Brown Band celebrating the country singer’s birthday. The clip also teased a new step in their romance as Kelly appeared to have a ring on that finger.
A year after Zac reportedly popped the question while vacationing in Hawaii, the “Fried Chicken” singer and model tied the knot in August 2023.
Zac and Kelly announced their breakup in December after four months of marriage.
"We are in the process of divorce," the former couple said in a joint statement to Billboard in December. "Our mutual respect for one another remains. We wish each other the best and will always appreciate our time together. As we navigate this personal matter, we simply request privacy during this time."
Nearly five months after sharing that he and Kelly were parting ways, their announcement, Zac filed a lawsuit against his estranged wife on May 17 where he asked a judge for a temporary restraining order that would require her to take down an Instagram post that he said tarnished his public image and violated a confidentiality agreement she signed in August 2022.
“I took the steps necessary to enforce an agreement between us to maintain personal and business affairs in confidence,” he said in a statement to NBC News, “and to protect my family from online harassment and speculation.”
He also added that his “only hope is for us to keep private matters private and to move forward with the mutual respect we had agreed to show one another when we parted ways.”
Kelly responded to Zac’s civil claim with a lengthy social media post on May 19, calling his suit “meritless” on social media and promising to respond “swiftly and robustly."
"No one—not even Zac Brown with all of his money, power, celebrity, and lawyers," Kelly captioned a May 19 TikTok video, "may silence my right to freely express myself through art or, although I have to date declined to do so publicly, to speak about the circumstances of our pending divorce."
She noted that although she initially remained silent amid their split, she denied the allegations that she had divulged confidential information about his business through posts on her Instagram account.
The 33-year-old concluded the social media post by adding, “Like Zac, I have lawyers too, and I will tell my truth in court — where he has unnecessarily dragged me."
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