Are Josh Richards and Brianna LaPaglia still friends? CrossCheck Studios CEO opens up about his equation with ex-cohost after BFFs Podcast ended

Josh Richards recently shed light on his relationship with his former BFFs Podcast co-host, Brianna LaPaglia, two months after they announced the end of their podcast in October 2025. Josh Richards, the co-founder and CEO of CrossCheck Studios, began hosting the BFFs Podcast with Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, in 2020.

Brianna LaPaglia soon joined the duo, and the three hosted the show till Portnoy's departure in October 2024, following which Richards and LaPaglia continued as co-hosts. On October 16, 2025, Richards and LaPaglia announced their decision to end their podcast for good.

Josh Richards caught up with People Magazine during the TikTok Awards, held at the Hollywood Palladium on December 18, 2025, where he opened up about his relationship with his former co-host following the end of their podcast. Richards confirmed the pair were still good friends, adding that LaPaglia was "one of my best friends and will be for life."

Brianna LaPaglia and Josh Richards speak during the 2025 Forbes Under 30 Summit 2025 Forbes Under 30 Summit (Image via Getty)

He continued that LaPaglia was like an older sister to him, saying that he enjoyed working with her on the podcast.

"It was so amazing getting to have a female counterpart that was able to tell me, once in a while, 'Hey, you're thinking like a guy right now.' I think that was helpful...It gave me a little bit of insight on life. She'll always be like an older sister to me. I loved working with Bri," he said.

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Brianna LaPaglia explained why she and Josh Richards decided to end the BFFs Podcast

During the October 16 episode of the BFFs Podcast, Brianna LaPaglia and Josh Richards confirmed its ending. The duo also hosted a six-hour livestream on YouTube, titled BFFS: THE FINALE, on November 18, to bid farewell to the five-year-old podcast.

In a subsequent episode of her own podcast, titled PlanBri Uncut, Brianna LaPaglia explained the reasoning behind ending the BFFs podcast, suggesting that Dave Portnoy's departure played a huge role in their decision. She added that the podcast was "fizzling out," continuing that both she and Richards lost interest after Portnoy left the show last year.

"With BFFs, it was just like, it was fizzling out. We all watched it happen. You could tell we lost interest in BFFs, kind of when we stopped being together. When Dave [Portnoy] left, it was a completely different show," she said.

The podcast host continued:

"And the fun of BFFs, and when we liked talking about people, was when we had to explain it to Dave. Like, that's when Josh and I really enjoyed it because it was this dynamic that no other podcast had, and why BFFs was so fun."

Brianna LaPaglia further added that the crux of their podcast was two TikTok kids trying to explain viral pop culture things to an older person, saying that trying to retain the same formula after Portnoy left didn't make sense.

LaPaglia also said she and Richards then attempted to shift the direction of the podcast by not focusing on headlines, which she claimed wasn't loved by the viewers, who tuned into the podcast to "get their pop culture fix in."

LaPaglia said they later reverted to their old format with the headlines. However, she confessed that neither she nor Richards enjoyed doing the headlines or talking about people anymore, adding that they had outgrown it.

In a November 26 interview with Us Weekly, Brianna LaPaglia confirmed that she and Josh Richards had planned to end the podcast "months ahead," adding that "it [had] just run its course for us.”

“We wanted to end it in a happy place where we both still loved it and cherished it. We got to say goodbye. We did a six-hour livestream,” she said.

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Brianna LaPaglia's PlanBri Uncut uploads new episodes every Sunday.

Edited by Juhi Marzia