The pair have been married for a decade
Jelly Roll, whose legal name is Jason DeFord, has reportedly filed for divorce from his wife, Bunnie XO. TMZ reports that the country/rap star filed the papers at a Tennessee courthouse in May. The publication says the divorce was a mutual decision and a “private family matter.”
The pair met in 2015 at one of Jelly Roll’s early shows at the Country Saloon in Las Vegas. At the time, Jelly Roll was completely broke, living out of a conversion van, and wrestling with the fallout of his past, which included prison time. Bunnie was working as a high-end escort and navigating her own survival. When she spotted him, she later recalled to Howard Stern being instantly drawn to him because he had “the saddest eyes in the room” and looked like a “project.”
In August 2016, after about a year of dating, Jelly Roll proposed on stage in Sin City. Keeping with their impulsive, raw energy, they walked straight to a Little White Wedding Chapel that very night and got married. Upon getting married, Bunnie immediately stepped up to help Jelly Roll secure custody of his young daughter, Bailee. Jelly Roll has repeatedly credited Bunnie with transforming their house into a true home and providing the stability needed to raise his children, Bailee and his son, Noah.
Bunnie and Jelly Roll have been incredibly open about the fact that they hate being labeled “couple goals” because their marriage wasn’t always smooth sailing. They emphasize a few major turning points that built their bond.
In 2018, the couple briefly split after Jelly Roll had an affair. Bunnie packed up and left, but after doing intense individual soul-searching regarding her own childhood traumas, she chose to give him a second chance. They used that rock-bottom moment to rebuild their marriage on a foundation of “uncomfortable conversations.”
In her memoir Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic, Bunnie cleared up long-standing rumors about their marriage structure. She explained that in the early years, because neither had been taught how to love healthily, their relationship was hyper-fluid and non-traditional. However, she made it clear that their marriage is completely closed and strictly monogamous now.
In August 2023—seven years after their impromptu courthouse wedding—they returned to the same Las Vegas chapel. This time, Jelly Roll finally saw Bunnie in a traditional wedding dress, symbolizing how far they had come from their chaotic beginnings.
It’s unclear what led to the divorce. The pair had actively supported each other’s careers. Jelly Roll, who was a convicted felon due to pre-2010 convictions for robbery and drug possession, had his record cleared as of 2025. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee granted his pardon in December after the singer’s total transformation and his commitment to helping others.