Cruising on two different paths? Florida Georgia Line bandmates Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley sparked rumors that they recently had a falling out.
Fans speculated that something seemed to have gone awry between the country stars after Hubbard, 33, and his wife, Hayley Hubbard, unfollowed Kelley, 35, on Instagram.
“Does that mean FGL will be no more?” one Twitter user wondered, while another called the unfollowing “really weird” considering the duo just released a Christmas song, “Lit This Year,” on October 29.
Several fans theorized that Tyler and Kelley’s differing political views may have driven them apart in the wake of this year’s polarizing election, which saw Joe Biden defeat Donald Trump to become the 46th president of the United States.
Tyler has spoken out against President Trump, 74, in the past, while Hayley, 34, showed support for Vice President-elect Kamala Harris via Instagram on Sunday, November 8. Kelley, for his part, slammed supporters of President-elect Biden, 77, on his Instagram Story, calling their post-election celebrations a “s–t show.” Kelley also shut down a fan who commented that he voted for the former vice president, writing, “Think again bub” with an American flag emoji.
“Man, those two got a long talk coming,” one Twitter user wrote. Another fan called politics a “silly thing” to unfollow someone over but acknowledged that “bands/duos have broken up over less.”
Kelley’s wife, Brittney Kelley, fueled the fire by posting a series of cryptic quotes to her Instagram Story on Tuesday, November 10, including one that read, “Real friends don’t always agree with [you] but they do respect your right to have an opinion.” In a video message later that day, she said in part, “A lot of people need to look up the definition of a democracy and bipartisanship and learn that.”
Despite the rumors, a source close to Florida Georgia Line tells Us Weekly, “All is good with the FGL family. Tyler and Brian’s friendship is as strong as ever.” (Tyler refollowed Brian shortly after this story’s publication.)
The social media speculation came shortly after Tyler announced that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, forcing Florida Georgia Line to cancel their scheduled performance at the 2020 CMA Awards on Wednesday, November 11.
“Some of y’all guessed it….. Got the Rona,” he wrote via Instagram on Monday, November 9. “Asymptomatic. Quarantining on bus. Miss my family. Writing songs. Thankful.”
Fellow country singers including Maren Morris and Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild wished Tyler a speedy recovery in the comments section of his post. Brian has not publicly addressed his bandmate’s diagnosis, though he did repost two throwback photos of the Grammy-nominated group on his Instagram Stories on Tuesday, one of which promoted their latest EP, 6-Pack.
