Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO have been together since 2015 and got married in 2016. We used to cover them somewhat regularly, but we stopped around the time Jelly joined Kid Rock’s tour. He gives “undercover MAGA” vibes, although he’s said he’s “not political.” *Knowing stare* Jelly and Bunnie have been open about their relationship issues, particularly last October when Jelly admitted on a podcast that he had cheated on Bunnie in 2018, calling it “one of the worst moments of my adulthood.” He claimed that they’d worked through their issues and that it had made them stronger. That doesn’t seem to have lasted as we’re just learning that Jelly Roll filed for divorce from Bunnie last month. Here’s more, from E!:
Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo’s relationship isn’t as sweet anymore.
The “Amen” singer and the Dumb Blonde podcast host have broken up after nearly 10 years of marriage, according to court records obtained by E! News. Jelly (real name Jason Bradley DeFord) filed for divorce on May 18 in Tennessee.
While neither has commented publicly on the split, Bunnie (real name Alisa DeFord) posted a cryptic message on her Instagram Story hours before news broke, writing, “She’s getting her sparkle back” alongside a lingerie photo.
E! News has reached out to their reps for comment but hasn’t heard back.
The couple—who tied the knot in August 2016—had been planning to expand their family after starting their fertility journey back in 2019. As recently as February, Bunnie wrote in her memoir Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic that they were trying to have twins via surrogate.
“Now that we’re finally stable financially and somewhat emotionally after all the healing we’ve done over this decade together, we’re talking about the future—including growing our family,” the 46-year-old wrote. “J and I have a surrogate, the sweetest woman ever, and soon I’ll be starting my IVF stims.”
At the time, Bunnie said she’d found the perfect person in Jelly—dad to Bailee, 18, and Noah, 9, from previous relationships—writing, “I’ve waited this long to have kids with someone I knew would be a great father—and to be able to make sure they have the best life.”
After all, the pair have been through a lot together over the years after meeting during his performance at the Las Vegas Country Saloon in 2015.
“My wife at the time was an escort, a high-end escort, in Vegas,” the Grammy winner said on a 2024 episode of the Full Send Podcast. “She grew up in Vegas. And at the time, I was [doing] $500 shows, living in that white van. I didn’t have a key to an apartment.”
In the Human School podcast last October Jelly was vague about his cheating. According to Bunnie’s book, Stripped Down, she was the one who discovered the affair when she showed up unannounced at one of Jelly’s gigs. She told Howard Stern earlier this year that it was “one of the darkest times of my life.” Bunnie’s YouTube channel has content with Jelly up until about two months ago. In a clip from February she admitted not seeing Jelly in two weeks, saying it felt like forever and that she missed him so much. She then surprised him at a restaurant where he was eating, and he was receptive but given their history it activated my spidey sense. Bunnie has been promoting her book and Jelly has been on tour.
Rosie typically covers these two, but this is breaking and she works later in the day. I asked her about it and she’s surprised that Jelly is the one who filed and not Bunnie. Rosie also reminded me that Bunnie has been open about going through IVF treatments and how hard that is. It’s worth noting that Jelly has lost a lot of weight, over 200 pounds, over the past few years. In an interview with E! he credited Bunnie for his weight loss (he’s said he didn’t use GLP-1 medication but was on metformin) and said “Bunnie played the [biggest] role to even get me here. Every part of me that gets better is just another attempt to be a better husband and a better father.” *Knowing stare* Actually, I don’t know these people but they’re obviously messy. They also seem really well suited for each other, so I would be surprised if they didn’t get back together by the end of the year.
Bunnie’s last Instagram post is of her mouthing the words to “How You Remind Me” by Nickelback. She has an instagram story of herself in lingerie with the caption “she’s getting her sparkle back.” She’s also been horseback riding, whitewater rafting and hanging out with her girlfriends. Jelly has been posting from his tour. His last post with Bunnie is from May 3.
Photos credit: Faye Sadou/Avalon, Media Punch/INSTARimages
She also just got a facelift so the glow-ups are happening on either side. I’m not really surprised they’re breaking up because their relationship has never felt solid to me–just two middle-aged people settling for each other.
I do think he’s MAGA and never bought any of his denials.
I know more about her than him (and still not a ton), but she seems like a sweet person who’s gone through a lot of abusive situations. If I remember right she has OCD and likes being out in the country away from people now.
His teen daughter has graduated high school in the past months (or last year?), I believe. Bunny raised her because her mom had severe drug problems.
I have at no point cared about Jelly, but Bunny has seemed nice from the bits I’ve seen online, and podcast clips.
I don’t know anything about either of them, don’t listen to his music or her podcast, but I’m strangely sad to hear that they’ve broken up.
I think you Spidey senses are right on, CB. She’s been gone, he’s been gone, lots of easy cover and excuses. And possible cheating aside (how you remind me says that’s likely the case though), it’s also not uncommon for people to split up after their kids graduate high school. Who knows, maybe things weren’t progressing well with the surrogate, she felt his distance akin to when he last cheated, and her stepdaughter came of age and she realized the universe was giving her a clear exit.
I’m always suspicious of couples who are this open😬He annoys me. She seems more likeable, donating items to women who were living in shelters.
Well, it SEEMS like she has been very supportive of him. I think people often break up after a major weight loss? Like, “I’m hot now, so I could get new dates / hookups.” I dunno.
Well maybe he’ll be looking for hotter hookups, but not until he has major skin removal after such a huge weight loss.
I feel bad for her. She has managed his life, his weight and his child. And speaking as someone on Metformin, there is NO way you lose a ton of weight by “just taking it.” I lost 63 pounds by watching carbs and fats while on it. It is no cakewalk. Given how big he was and how much he has lost, I have always suspected he has had some type of assistance.