Just a few months ago, Jelly Roll (41) and Bunnie Xo were standing closely embraced on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards, kissing and celebrating together one of the biggest successes in the country singer's career. Now comes the reversal: The musician filed for divorce from his wife on May 18 in Williamson County in the state of Tennessee, as "TMZ" reports citing court records.
Emotional Declaration of Love at the Grammys
At the Grammy Awards in February, Jelly Roll, whose legal name is Jason DeFord, and podcaster Bunnie Xo, actually Alisa DeFord, appeared demonstratively affectionate throughout the entire evening. After the singer accepted the award for Best Contemporary Country Album, he became visibly moved during his acceptance speech. "I want to thank my wonderful wife", he said. "Without you, I would have never changed my life. I would be dead or in prison. I would have taken my own life if it weren't for you and Jesus. Thank you for that."
The two met in 2015 at one of the musician's concerts at a country saloon in Las Vegas. About a year later, Jelly Roll proposed to his partner on a stage in the same city - and that very same evening, the couple secretly tied the knot without telling friends or family. In 2023, they returned to the same chapel to renew their wedding vows.
Relationship with Ups and Downs
The marriage was not without its crises. In October, Jelly Roll described an affair from the early days of the marriage on the podcast "Human School" as one of the worst moments of his adult life. Bunnie Xo shared her perspective in her recently published memoir "Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic" and publicly revealed that her husband had been unfaithful to her for over ten months in 2018. At the time, she left him for about 30 days, she told "People" in January - but returned because she loved him so much and believed in a second chance.
Both took an unusual position on the question of fidelity: In her memoir, Bunnie Xo described the couple's understanding as not owning each other and viewing the relationship as free, not as open.
Just in recent months, Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo had spoken extensively about their shared desire to have children and their difficulties with artificial insemination. In her memoir, Bunnie Xo wrote that they had found a surrogate and were hoping for twins. Jelly Roll is already the father of an 18-year-old daughter and a nine-year-old son from previous relationships, whom Bunnie Xo reportedly gladly cared for as a stepmother.
