Florida Georgia Line, the country duo comprised of Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley, announced their split in 2022 after 10 years together. Since then, both Hubbard and Kelley have permanently closed FGL House, embarked on solo country music careers, and fans have continued to speculate about the nature of their breakup. Hubbard set the record straight on the Human School Podcast this month, revealing that it was Kelley’s desire to go solo that led to the duo’s split.
Fans had initially believed the breakup may have been political in nature after Hubbard unfollowed Kelley on social media in 2020. While that unfollow was due to Hubbard’s desire not to see Kelley’s posts about his political beliefs, it wasn’t the reason for their split, though Hubbard told podcast host Miles Adcox that the public move definitely amplified things.
“When it happens publicly, and you get millions of people to weigh in on it, I think it compounds the pressure and the stress,” Hubbard said. “It gets people further in their corners. It’s kind of what we’re seeing out in culture right now. And whereas two guys who came together and created some magic and decided to go a different direction and try to create some new magic, there had to be a bigger, darker story there.”
Tyler Hubbard revealed to Adcox that the breakup actually began when Kelley sent him a text with a new song. “I said, ‘I feel like it’d be a great [Kenny] Chesney pitch. You ought to send it to Chesney and see if he’d bite on it,’” Hubbard recalled. “And he said, ‘Well, I did actually send it to Chesney. And he passed on it, which I’m taking as a sign.’ And I said, ‘Well, what sign for what?’ And he said, ‘Well, that I should do it.’ And at that point, I’m like, ‘What do you mean?’”
What Kelley meant was releasing the song as a solo artist, something Hubbard said Kelley had previously floated, but not in a serious way. When he realized Kelley wanted to “pursue a career change,” the Georgia native told his friend that he wasn’t willing to continue on as Florida Georgia Line if that was the case.
“I’m not willing to do Florida Georgia Line and then have a direct competitor that’s my partner doing the same exact thing,” Hubbard reasoned. “I also told him, ‘I don’t think I deserve 50% of you if I’m willing to give a hundred.’”
In November, Hubbard and Kelley were photographed together at the 2025 CMA Awards in Nashville, prompting fans to express their wishes for a musical reunion between the two. Speaking with Adcox, Hubbard shared that he’s simply focused on rebuilding his relationship with his former bandmate.
“I hadn’t spoken to BK a lot in the last couple of years, but we’re going on a hike next week, so the way I see it is, I have a desire for that friendship,” he said. “I miss the guy I was partners with for 10 year, I miss my old roommate, my best man at my wedding, and if nothing else, we should have a relationship.”
“It doesn’t have to be what it was, and it doesn’t have to equal FGL doing anything, but we need to repair… and spend some time together face-to-face,” Hubbard continued. “And just walk and talk and hang, and go fishing or get a guitar out. I’m excited for that, because yeah, it feels like, at this point, enough time has gone by.”
Sharing that he feels “hopeful” for a new chapter with Kelley, Hubbard said, “What I’m hungry for is… Let me get my friend back.”
