After breakup rumors swirled when Florida Georgia Line member Tyler Hubbard briefly unfollowed his bandmate, Brian Kelley, on Instagram, the duo is putting the speculation to rest, opening up about their political differences and enduring friendship during a new interview with Storme Warren on SiriusXM’s Exit 209 with Storme Warren show. “Somebody sent me an article two days ago that me and BK were breaking up and I thought, ‘Well, that’s news to me,’” Hubbard said after Warren mentioned the “social media elephant” in the room.
Hubbard explained that he unfollowed his bandmate “for a few days while we were through this political … in the middle of this election and everything going on. 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 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.”
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The Georgia native has publicly criticized President Donald Trump, while Kelley recently criticized large post-election celebrations on Instagram and contradicted one fan who assumed that he had voted for President-elect Joe Biden.
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Hubbard added that he and Kelley are on “great terms” despite the speculation. “We’re feeling stronger than ever. We’re loving and supporting each other through even all the chapters that we’re in now and excited for the future,” he said. “But thought it was pretty humorous and entertaining that somebody took the time to notice that in the first place and then turn it into a story that FGL is breaking up. That being said, we can’t wait to go on tour next year together.”
Florida Georgia Line is currently working on their fifth studio album and recently announced a new multi-year touring deal with Live Nation. The duo also just released their first original holiday song, “Lit This Year.”
“We were literally on a call yesterday, just showing up the last details of our record and working on getting some touring cities out here soon and a couple of announcements, but that came through in the middle of our team call and we’re just like, ‘Well, that’s interesting we are on a phone call together right now talking about the future,’” Kelley said. “So pretty interesting,”
While Hubbard and Kelley may disagree when it comes to politics, there’s one thing they both share. “As it relates to politics, we might have different views or [a] different set of opinions or the way we perceive our leaders, but ultimately we’re a lot alike and we think a lot alike,” Hubbard explained. “We both believe in God and we both put our faith in him and we know that he’s in control over Donald Trump or Joe Biden. So we’re voting Jesus and our world and trusting that He’s in control and letting our risks come there.”
The two musicians have now been working together for 10 years, and like any long-term relationship, there have been ups and downs. “It’s not all sugar-coated,” Hubbard said. “And so the truth is — and I think this is important to talk about — me and BK have done work. We’ve [gone] to therapy, we’ve sat with each other and wanted to kill each other at times. But by the end of it, we were hugging it out. You know what I mean? Because we’re brothers and that’s what brothers do. And brothers don’t always get along.”
