Zac Brown's Ex Slams His "Ill-Fated Quest" to "Silence" Her Amid Split
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Originally appeared on E! Online
Kelly Yazdi has some heated words for Zac Brown as she's walking away from their marriage.
Amid her contentious divorce from the country music star, Kelly spoke out and accused Brown of attempting "to get a gag order to silence me" by filing a temporary restraining order and a lawsuit that accused her of tarnishing his image.
In a June 4 Instagram post, the Wild Ride founder said that "Zac's response to having his motion summarily denied was to issue a press release doubling-down on his defamatory attacks on me, accusing me of using the lawsuit he filed against me as an ad hoc press release, and vowing to press his meritless lawsuit forward."
"Because it appears, for now, that Zac intends to do just that, it is important to know that I am not a willing participant in that agenda," she continued. "Indeed, I have issued no press release on the circumstances of our pending divorce—only Zac has done so."
Kelly, 33, also noted that she has not used her "limited platform to defame or humiliate Zac," nor has she initiated a lawsuit of her own against the "As She's Walking Away" singer, who she broke up with in December after just four months of marriage.
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"Nevertheless, it remains my hope that we can resolve our separation and eventual divorce like adults, in private, and with respect for each other," Kelly added. "But, I will not be threatened or intimidated into submission—if Zac continues to pursue his ill-fated quest for a court injunction to silence me, or again publicly defames me or accuses me of dishonesty, I will meet him in court fully loaded with the truth about what has happened over the course of our relationship."
In his lawsuit against Kelly, obtained by NBC News, the Zac Brown Band frontman accused his ex of violating a confidentiality agreement through an Instagram post she shared. While he did not specify which Instagram post in the complaint, Zac, 45, did seek an emergency temporary restraining order for its removal, as well as request the court to bar Kelly from "making any defamatory, false, untrue, or otherwise damaging statements."
"I took the steps necessary to enforce an agreement between us to maintain personal and business affairs in confidence and to protect my family from online harassment and speculation," he explained of the lawsuit in a statement to NBC News, adding 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."
For a complete timeline of Zac and Kelly's divorce, keep reading.
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."
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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