How Jelly Roll Met His Wife Bunnie Xo: “I Was Immediately Attracted To Her”

Jelly Roll is one of the biggest names in all of music right now, especially after his latest album release, Whitsitt Chapel, the critically-acclaimed country project that introduced Jelly to a number of new fans. His meteoric rise to stardom has been pretty impressive, but he always makes sure to let people know that he couldn't do it without his wife Bunnie Xo. The host of the Dumb Blonde Podcast has had quite the successful run in recent years as well, and despite nasty claims to the contrary, Jelly has said that he was actually the " gold digger " in the relationship. And Jelly Roll is, without a doubt, his wife's biggest fan. Last summer, he shared a " Bunnie Appreciation Post " detailing how much she has done for him, both on and off the stage: "A lot is often said or made about my story , but the truth is , I’ve never been moved more by a story than the story of my wife. To watch what this woman has overcame and her passion and determination to be something better has inspired me from the moment I met her. She saved me in one of the darkest times of my life. She has been nothing but supportive. I remember her sitting at our kitchen table and her talking to me about the vision she had to start the Dumb Blonde Podcast, and how it was her means to end working in the sex industry for good. I watched her build her own platform , her own podcast and her own team with ZERO help from me. She wanted to do it on her own , she didn’t want to be just “Jelly Roll’s wife” she wanted to build her own empire to empower women and share her story in hopes that it could motivate others to believe that they could change their lives and be happy. Watching her launch into this season of the Podcast, watching her build this beautiful community on Patreon where she post our family vlog series “Meet the DeFords” and NOW SHE IS COMING ON TOUR WITH ME AND DOING HER OWN MEET AND GREET (that I’ll be crashing as many of them as I can) watching you take this thing to the moon has been nothing short of incredible to watch- so so so so happy for you baby. Let’s keep changing the world a little at a time." https://www.instagram.com/p/CuabzbBPrHP/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=a633bc4e-27b6-45c7-bb57-05e5ff026227 So last year, when Jelly Roll was a guest on Andrew Schulz's Flagrant with Akaash Singhm , which is a comedy podcast that promises "unfiltered, unapologetic, and unruly" conversations that are delivered "straight to your dome piece," it was not out of the norm for him to open up and tell the story of how he and Bunnie Xo met. The country star said: "I got the coolest girl on Earth. We met at a bar dude, like f**king 1972. I'm doing a soft-ticket show on Fremont Street (Las Vegas), nobody's there to see me. I was just immediately attracted to her. They were just at the bar, and then one night, she shot her shot. She came into the room we were all in and just sat on my lap. And you know, Bunnie's got that g**damn THING on her. Bunnie's got that THING on her." Jelly then gets into some "specifics" about what was going on in his pants when she sat on his lap, which I will let you hear for yourself. It's probably better for you to hear Jelly say it, rather than reading it here anyways. After getting through some commentary about "that thing on her" he continued: "And then we ended up at a little bar that night, and had a couple of drinks and she kissed me. We went back to the house and she tried to f**k me. And I was like hold on, hold on, hold on... " Ah, true love at its finest... Gotta love Jelly Roll... always keeping it real. Authenticity seems pretty hard to come by these days, especially in show business, and Jelly Roll, as well as his wife Bunnie Xo, are some of the realest mf'ers in the business. Take a look: https://twitter.com/JellyRoll615/status/1691525875273973760?s=20 He went on to explain more about how they actually figured out that 5-year plan the next morning, after the first night they met, and damn it if they didn't knock it out of the park. But most importantly, they knocked it out of the park... together. Jelly got choked up talking about it, and it's hard not to get a little misty-eyed yourself: https://www.instagram.com/p/CwDai2BIPfx/

Custody Of His Daughter

These days, Jelly Roll and his wife, Bunnie Xo , are one of the biggest power couples in country music. The rapper-turned-country superstar has been snatching up awards left and right, has four #1 singles under his belt at country radio, and even garnered a few Grammy nominations after the release of his debut country album, Whitsitt Chapel, last year. And his wife, Bunnie Xo, is a powerhouse herself, building her own brand as the host of her Dumb Blonde podcast. But things weren't always so great for the couple. Jelly Roll (whose real name is Jason DeFord) has been open about his struggles earlier in life, including his struggles with addiction and being sent to prison for armed robbery. And he's admitted that when he first met his future wife, he was homeless and living in a van after having just been released from his time spent behind bars. But Bunnie was a high-end escort in Las Vegas, so she was already doing pretty well for herself : "I was broke. I was living in a 1996 van. Literally. Didn’t have a house. And this woman has like two condos and a few sports cars. She’s f***ing BALLING." It was while he was still in prison that Jelly Roll found out that he had become a father, a moment that he's credited with turning his life around and helping him realize that he needed to get his act together. So the first thing that he wanted to do when he was released was get custody of his daughter. Of course that was easier said than done at a time when he didn't even have a home to raise her in. But luckily, his then-girlfriend Bunnie was fully supportive - and willing to do whatever it took to help him: "I have to sit Bunnie down and go, 'Look, I have a kid that you know about that I'm fixin' to have to get full custody of. There's also a woman out there that's pregnant with a kid of mine.' And Bunnie is just like, "Whoo, man, that's a lot. But I got you. Whatever.'" The first order of business was getting Jelly Roll a place to live - something he couldn't afford at the time: "I don't have a house. I'm homeless. So she's like, 'The first thing we have to do is get you somewhere to live in Nashville.' I was like, 'Well I can't put it in my name. I'm a felon, I don't have enough proof of income to get the kind of place we'd need to get her in the right school district.' Bunnie's like, 'Well let's just go get a condo so you have a bedroom.'" And Bunnie promised Jelly Roll that no matter what happened between the two of them, that she would help him get custody of his daughter: "So Bunnie comes down there, we're getting a condo. I'll never forget, Bunnie looked at me, and man it makes me emotional. She said, 'No matter what happens with us, I'm going to help you get this little girl.' And I was like, man, what character. You know what I mean? Like what character, this woman is like, 'Look, I'm not 100% sure I'll be with you, but I'm gonna do everything I can to help you with this little girl.' Because dude, I'm broke. I can't afford the lawyer, can't afford anything. And I'm like, 'Dude, what am I gonna do? Put the kid in a van?' So Bunnie bankrolled the whole sh*t. And she never talks about that, but it's a true story." Obviously things look a little different for the family these days. Jelly and Bunnie are now married - and have full custody of Jelly Roll's daughter, 15-year old Bailee Ann. And he's also a loving father to his 7-year old son Noah, who often spends time with his superstar father and his half-sister. But according to Jelly Roll, it's all thanks to Bunnie that he was able to get his family - and his life - back together.