Jelly Roll Admits He’d Be “Dead or In Jail” Without Bunnie Xo

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Content warning: This story discusses suicidal thoughts.

Can we get a hard fought hallelujah for Jelly Roll?

I seriously can’t even breathe right now! He finally won a Grammy! After all these years, he took home the golden gramophone at the 2026 Grammys! Can you believe he beat out Kelsea Ballerini, Miranda Lambert, Tyler Childers, and Eric Church for Best Contemporary Country Album? It was for Beautifully Broken, his album from 2024, and honestly, it’s his masterpiece. I’ve been streaming it non-stop since it dropped, and I knew it would happen! (I need to go find all the red carpet pics ASAP!)

On February 1st at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Jelly Roll (whose real name is Jason DeFord) publicly thanked his wife, Bunnie Xo, who he’s been married to for almost a decade.

He told the podcaster, as she made a heart shape with her hands, that she’d completely changed his life. He said he would have ended up either dead or in prison, and that without her and his faith, he wouldn’t have survived.

He explained that he went through a really difficult period in his life, which inspired this album. He felt hopeless at times and even had dark thoughts.

Oh my gosh, did you SEE Trevor Noah host the Grammys?! And TobyMac? He absolutely KILLED it! I was screaming when he won for ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’ with Brandon Lake – seriously, that song gives me chills every time. But then?! He won AGAIN with Shaboozey for ‘Amen’! A country win?! TobyMac is just
 perfection. I’m obsessed! It was the best night ever, honestly.

Jelly Roll has changed a lot since his album Beautifully Broken came out. He’s lost over 200 pounds by making significant changes to his lifestyle.

In January, he told TopMob News that changing his diet was the most significant step he took to improve his health. He explained he’d been very close to death before making that change.

Beyond his health issues, Jelly Roll’s weight also caused problems in his intimate life with Bunnie.

He shared on The Joe Rogan Experience that he married someone who always cheered him up, even when he was at his lowest. But he admitted that after gaining a lot of weight, intimacy became difficult. He described awkwardly contorting his body – like playing the game Twister – just to be able to have sex, and constantly asking his wife if she was enjoying it. He said it was a really challenging time.

Honestly, seeing Jelly Roll transform has been incredible. He’s really shed some weight, and it’s made a huge difference – not just physically, but in his whole outlook. Bunnie shared with me that this journey has actually given him a real boost of confidence, and you can definitely see that shining through now.

She told Extra in January that dealing with weight issues and constant teasing was incredibly damaging to his self-esteem. Seeing him finally look in the mirror and feel confident, saying ‘I’m hot,’ was a really proud moment for her.

For more winners at the 2026 Grammy Awards, read on.

WINNER: “Anxiety,” Doechii

“Love,” OK Go

“So Be It,” Clipse

“Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter

“Young Lion,” Sade

WINNER: Sinners

A Complete Unknown

F1 The Album

KPop Demon Hunters

Wicked

 

WINNER: “Golden,” KPop Demon Hunters

“As Alive As You Need Me to Be,” Tron: Ares

“I Lied to You,” Sinners

“Never Too Late,” Elton John: Never Too Late

“Pale, Pale Moon,” Sinners

“Sinners,” Sinners

WINNER: “Defying Gravity,” Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande

“Golden (From KPop Demon Hunters),” HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI

 “Gabriela,” KATSEYE

“APT.,” RosĂ©, Bruno Mars

“30 for 30,” SZA featuring Kendrick Lamar

WINNER: “Bad As I Used to Be,” Chris Stapleton

“Nose on the Grindstone,” Tyler Childers

“Good News,” Shaboozey

“I Never Lie,” Zach Top

“Somewhere Over Laredo,” Lainey Wilson

WINNER: Cancionera, Natalia Lafourcade

Cosa Nuestra, Rauw Alejandro

BOGOTÁ DELUXE, Andrés Cepeda

Tropicoqueta, Karol G

Y Ahora Qué?, Alejandro Sanz

WINNER: “Changes Back to the Beginning,” YungBlud

“Mirtazapine,” Hayley Williams

“Never Enough,” Turnstile

“The Emptiness Machine,” Linkin Park

“U Should Not Be Doing That,” Amyl and the Sniffers

WINNER: EUSEXUA, FKA Twigs

Ten Days, Fred again..

Fancy That, PinkPantheress

Inhale / Exhale, RĂŒfĂŒs du Sol

F*** U SKRILLEX U THINK UR ANDY WARHOL BUT UR NOT!! <3, Skrillex

WINNER: “Abracadabra,” Lady Gaga

“Illegal”, PinkPantheress

“Just Keep Watching (From F1 The Movie),” Tate McRae

“Midnight Sun,” Zara Larsson

“Bluest Flame,” Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco

WINNER: Songs of a Lost World, The Cure

SABLE, fABLE, Bon Iver

DON’T TAP THE GLASS, Tyler, The Creator

moisturizer, Wet Leg

Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, Hayley Williams

WINNER: “Music by John Williams,” John Williams

“Devo,” Devo

“Live at the Royal Albert Hall,” Raye

“Relentless,” Diane Warren

“Piece by Piece,” Pharrell Williams

WINNER: “Folded,” Kehlani

“Yes it Is,” Leon Thomas

“Overqualified,” Durand Bernarr

“It Depends,” Chris Brown

“Heart of a Woman,” Summer Walker

 

WINNER: Mutt, Leon Thomas

Beloved, Givéon

Why Not More?, Coco Jones

The Crown, Ledisi

Escape Room, Teyana Taylor

WINNER: Never Enough, Turnstile

Private Music, Deftones 

I Quit, Haim

From Zero, Linkin Park

Idols, Yungblud

WINNER: “Chains & Whips,” Clipse, Pusha T & Malice Featuring Kendrick Lamar & Pharrell Williams

“Outside,” Cardi B

“Anxiety,” Doechii

“tv off,” Kendrick Lamar ft. Lefty Gunplay

“Darling, I,” Tyler, The Creator ft. Teezo Touchdown

WINNER: A Matter of Time, Laufey

Wintersongs, Laila Biali

The Gift of Love, Jennifer Hudson

Who Believes in Angels?, Elton John & Brandi Carlile

Harlequin, Lady Gaga

The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume 2, Barbra Streisand

WINNER: “Bitin’ List,” Tyler Childers

“Good News,” Shaboozey

“I Never Life,” Zach Top

“Somewhere Over Laredo,” Lainey Wilson

“A Song to Sing,” Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton

WINNER: “Amen,” Shaboozey & Jelly Roll

“Honky Tonk Hall of Fame,” George Strait, Chris Stapleton

“Love Me Like You Used to Do,” Margo Price & Tyler Childers

“Trailblazer,” Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert & Lainey Wilson

“A Song to Sing,” Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton

WINNER: BIG MONEY, Jon Batiste

Bloom, Larkin Poe

Last Leaf on the Tree, Willie Nelson

So Long Little Miss Sunshine, Molly Tuttle

Middle, Jesse Welles

WINNER: “Folded,” Kehlani

“Heart of a Woman,” Summer Walker

“MUTT (NPR Tiny Desk),” Leon Thomas

“It Depends,” Chris Brown

“Yukon,” Justin Bieber

WINNER: “tv off,” Kendrick Lamar ft. Lefty Gunplay

“Anxiety,” Doechii

“The Birds Don’t Sing,” Clipse, Pusha T & Malice Featuring John Legend & Voices Of Fire

“Sticky,” Tyler, The Creator Featuring GloRilla, Sexyy Red & Lil Wayne

“TGIF,” GloRilla

 

“DtMF,” Bad Bunny

“Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter

“Anxiety,” Doechii

“Wildflower,” Billie Eilish

“Abracadbra,” Lady Gaga

“Luther,” Kendrick Lamar with SZA

“The Subway,” Chappell Roan

“APT.,” RosĂ©, Bruno Mars

 
 
 
 

DeBĂ­ TiRAR MĂĄS FOToS, Bad Bunny

Swag, Justin Bieber

Man’s Best Friend, Sabrina Carpenter

Let God Sort Em Out, Clipse, Pusha T & Malice

Mayhem, Lady Gaga

GNX, Kendrick Lamar

Mutt, Leon Thomas

Chromakopia, Tyler, The Creator

“Abracadbra,” Lady Gaga

“Anxiety,” Doechii

“APT.,” RosĂ©, Bruno Mars

“DtMF,” Bad Bunny

“Golden (From KPop Demon Hunters),” HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI

“Luther,” Kendrick Lamar with SZA

“Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter

“Wildflower,” Billie Eilish

WINNER: Olivia Dean

KATSEYE

The Marias

Addison Rae

sombr

Leon Thomas

Alex Warren

Lola Young

Swag, Justin Bieber

Man’s Best Friend, Sabrina Carpenter

Something Beautiful, Miley Cyrus

WINNER: Mayhem, Lady Gaga

I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy [Part 2], Teddy Swims

“Daisies,” Justin Bieber

“Manchild,” Sabrina Carpenter

“Disease,” Lady Gaga

“The Subway,” Chappell Roan

WINNER: “Messy,” Lola Young

Let God Sort Em Out, Clipse, Pusha T & Malice

Glorious, GloRilla

God Does Like Ugly, Jid

WINNER: GNX, Kendrick Lamar

Chromakopia, Tyler, The Creator

The Wild Robot, Kris Bowers, composer

Wicked, John Powell & Stephen Schwartz, composers

WINNER: Sinners, Ludwig Göransson, composer

Severance: Season 2, Theodore Shapiro, composer

How To Train Your Dragon, John Powell, composer

WINNER:Buena Vista Social Club

Death Becomes Her

Gypsy

Just In Time

Read More

2026-02-02 05:48