What Bunnie XO Wrote About Jelly Roll Romance, His Affair Before Split

Just before their 10th wedding anniversary, Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO decided to end their marriage. Court records show Jelly Roll filed for divorce on May 18th, citing irreconcilable differences.

This news comes as a surprise to many, as the couple recently celebrated their daughter Bailee Ann’s senior prom just nine days earlier. On May 9th, Bunnie posted a video to TikTok expressing her belief in their ‘happily ever after’ and calling Bailee and Jelly Roll her ‘babies forever.’

The couple first met in 2015 in Las Vegas – Jelly Roll was a struggling musician living in his van, and Bunnie worked in the sex work industry. They were amazed by how far they’d come. Bunnie shared on TikTok that they successfully raised their daughter, Bailee, who is now graduating with a 4.0 GPA and is heading off to college. Bunnie also noted that many people doubted their relationship when they first gained custody of Bailee.

Although their relationship had its ups and downs, the couple appeared happy together. However, looking back at old social media posts, some things seem a bit strange now.

Consider Bunnie’s video from May 16th. Just two days before Jelly Roll submitted his paperwork, she posted a video of herself walking by trash cans with the caption, “I hate when my exes ruin a good shot.”

She talked about a new house on May 21st, and again the following week. Then, on June 6th, the host of Dumb Blonde shared a video of herself horseback riding with the caption, “Wild hearts can’t be broken.” Plus, on June 15th—the same day news broke about Jelly Roll and Bunnie separating—she posted a picture of herself in pink lingerie, writing, “She’s getting her sparkle back.”

Jelly Roll and Bunnie’s relationship has faced many challenges, but ultimately blossomed into a strong love story. They overcame obstacles like breakups – including one in 2018 when Jelly Roll confessed to infidelity – and a difficult journey with fertility. When they first started dating, he was already expecting his son Noah Buddy (now 9) with another woman.

Despite being seen as a ‘power couple,’ Bunnie insists they aren’t perfect role models. She explained to TopMob News that their relationship required immense effort, courage, and resilience. “It took a lot of work, guts and grit to get to where we are,” she shared in February. While things are wonderful now, it wasn’t easy at first; they were two damaged people who came together, healed each other, and have grown stronger over the past decade. She says Jelly Roll is her best friend.

For those curious about their history, especially following recent attention on their relationship, Bunnie’s memoir Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic details how they met and why she decided to forgive him after his affair.

Jelly Roll and Bunnie’s relationship hasn’t been easy, but they’ve overcome a lot to build a strong life together. They’ve faced challenges like breakups – including one in 2018 after Jelly Roll admitted to infidelity – and a difficult journey with fertility. When they first started dating, Jelly Roll was expecting his son, Noah Buddy, with another woman.

Though often seen as a ‘power couple,’ Bunnie insists they aren’t role models. She explained to TopMob News that their relationship required a lot of hard work, courage, and resilience.

“It took a lot of work, guts and grit to get to where we are,” she shared with TopMob in February. “It wasn’t easy at first. We were two broken people who came together and helped each other heal. We’ve grown together over the last 10 years, and I couldn’t be happier. He’s my best friend.”

For details about their relationship, including how they met and why Bunnie forgave him after his affair, you can find more in her February memoir, Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic.

Bunnie Xo was dating someone else in August 2015 when she first met Jelly Roll. He was performing as an opening act for the Moonshine Bandits at a bar in Las Vegas called the Country Saloon.

Oh my gosh, he just shattered all her defenses! It’s so amazing. She actually wrote about it in her book, Stripped Down, and she admitted – get this – that she was totally, completely mesmerized by him? I knew it! He’s just… everything.

She confessed that he wasn’t someone she usually went for, but when they shook hands, it felt incredibly powerful – like a cosmic connection. She described feeling an instant recognition, as though she had known him forever and been searching for him all her life.

She doesn’t remember much about his actual performance, but she took tons of videos of him on her phone. She wanted to really observe him – how he moved and spoke. She admitted she’d never been attracted to Southern accents before that night, but something about him captivated her. She clearly felt he had a bright future, thinking to herself, ‘This guy is going places.’

Bunnie and Jelly Roll had been connecting for months through texts and online chats. She often had company when he called, and she couldn’t stop thinking about his charming smile. So, she was overjoyed when he told her he was filming a music video in Las Vegas.

“J wasn’t my type—I love tough guys, or goth, emo boys in eyeliner,” Bunnie explained. “I wasn’t his type either. So why the hell was my soul telling me there he is the minute we met? I couldn’t explain it.”

Let me tell you, sparks really flew after we met at a honky-tonk! The connection was instant – we had incredible chemistry and honestly, we couldn’t stop ourselves from being affectionate. It was one of those nights where everything just clicked.

Bunnie recounted returning to her penthouse in Las Vegas, where she initiated intimacy with a man by removing her clothes and beginning to undress him, but he did not reciprocate her advances.

He asked her what she planned to do with her life in the next five years. “Feeling both annoyed and curious, I moved off of him and lay down beside him, putting my arm around him,” Bunnie explained. “That’s when I began sharing all my hopes and dreams.”

She shared her dreams of hosting a talk show and starting a family, while he talked about his music career and his intention to gain custody of his teenage daughter, Bailee.

Bunnie described how they spent hours together, imagining their future and how they could support each other. She said it was a completely open and honest conversation, unlike anything she’d experienced before.

I just… I knew J was unlike anyone else the moment I met him, honestly. And it’s so weird because even with all of that – yeah, he had tattoos and a past, a real past being an ex-felon and dealing drugs – he somehow felt like… home? It sounds crazy, but it’s true. He was trying to change, you know? Turn things around and do better. And I guess that resonated with me because I’ve been on my own journey of getting my life together too. We just got each other.

I remember when we first talked, he asked me what I did for work. I was completely honest with him right away. I told him, ‘I’m a call girl, and I make really good money.’ I explained that there are different levels to this kind of work, and I consider myself one of the more high-end providers.

And Jelly certainly did.

She said he wasn’t bothered at all. He told her, ‘I respect your drive. You’re a hard worker, and I have no issue with that.’ She added that from the very beginning, he never made her feel ashamed of the things she did to get by.

When she started traveling with him, she kept her website up-to-date with her tour schedule so potential clients knew where to find her. As Bunnie explained, “I had a full client list before we even touched down in each city.”

Jelly shared that it was refreshing to be in a relationship where both partners accepted each other completely. She explained, ‘It was the first time someone didn’t try to change me, and I felt no need to change them either.’

The couple’s spontaneous August 2016 wedding in Las Vegas had lasting consequences. When Jelly proposed to Bunnie backstage at a show, she confessed she was secretly terrified, despite feeling a connection unlike any other. She worried about whether she was ready for such a significant commitment.

I definitely thrive on doing things without planning,” she admitted. “It was incredibly exciting, and I loved how intense it was. Would it all fall apart? Probably—but at least we’d have a good story to tell.

They celebrated all the way to the courthouse, playing Jagged Edge‘s “Let’s Get Married” and Bruno Mars‘ “Gorilla.” As Bunnie put it, “We were feeling amazing—in every way!”

She described herself as being heavily under the influence on her wedding day and woke up the next morning feeling extremely angry, immediately wondering if getting married had been a mistake. She was wearing a torn black dress when she came to.

Their first major argument led to a heartfelt talk at the Grand Canyon, where Jelly Roll assured his wife that he was completely committed to their marriage.

Bunnie explained that J’s single sentence instantly eased all her anxieties. She’d always felt life was fairly easygoing—even relationships could end without major drama, and she never expected lasting commitment. But J was different; he seemed to envision a future with her, a long-term connection.

Seven years later they returned to that Vegas chapel to renew their vows.

She’s always been attracted to men who are a bit rebellious. “Before me, J was known for dating around,” Bunnie admitted. “He was involved with several women simultaneously for years.”

That includes the mother of his son Noah, born a week before his dad’s Vegas vows.

Bunnie explained that Jelly Roll had an on-again, off-again relationship with his child’s mother for around ten years. While it was a very unhealthy relationship, they both tried their best to co-parent their son. She also mentioned she and Jelly Roll started dating when she was already eight or nine months pregnant.

Bunnie admitted things were difficult with her husband’s former partner at first, but now she truly loves her and admires the person and mother she’s become. She’s grateful to have someone who understands her husband as well as she does.

When Bunnie first met Bailee, who was only seven years old at the time, Bailee may have actually helped Bunnie avoid making some bad choices.

Bunnie explained that after a few months of marriage, she and Jelly Roll were on the verge of gaining complete custody of Bailee from her mother, who was struggling with drug addiction.

Bunnie began each day by taking a combination of medication—half a Lortab, a quarter of a Xanax, and a diet pill—which she referred to as her “cocktail.” Realizing this wasn’t sustainable, she decided it was time to make a change.

She said she didn’t want to make things even harder for the child. Getting sober, at a minimum, would prevent her from causing further emotional harm.

Honestly, everything changed when I started thinking about Bailee. I just… stopped everything cold. Pills, cocaine, all of it – I was done. It wasn’t easy, though. I knew I needed to quit those things, but letting go of alcohol? That was going to take a lot longer. I was so focused on being worthy of even a glance from her, I had to try.

Bunnie made up her mind to travel with Jelly Roll all the way to his home in Tennessee, but it was hard for her to leave Las Vegas.

Bunnie admitted she was feeling homesick and overwhelmed by the demands of being a full-time mother, especially because of her difficult relationship with her own stepmother. She found herself longing for her previous life in Las Vegas. Everything had changed so quickly – within months, she went from having few responsibilities and a lot of freedom to feeling burdened and stuck in a routine, things she’d successfully avoided since leaving home at fourteen. These pressures were starting to cause problems in her marriage.

Bunnie described girls from her past, saying they made her feel unwelcome when she was the new person in town.

After days of increasing arguments with Jelly Roll, and shortly after Bailee had her tonsils removed, Bunnie made the difficult decision to leave. She later realized how much she valued family, stating, “I truly believe now that I would never abandon them,” but admitted that at the time, fear was the driving force behind her actions. “I could try to explain it away with excuses,” she said, “but really, I was just terrified.”

Oh my gosh, it didn’t take Bunnie long to realize she’d messed up! She was so desperate to fix things, she immediately rented this massive five-bedroom house in Vegas for all of them. She told me it was her way of saying sorry to Bailee and him, a real ‘I’m so, so sorry for leaving’ kind of apology. She kept saying she wanted to show them she was committed, that she was in this for the long haul, and that she’d prove it with what she did, not just what she said. It was just…so sweet and desperate, you could really feel how much she cared!

However, Jelly Roll quickly changed his mind. “Out of nowhere, he decided to cancel everything,” Bunnie explained, adding that she was completely surprised.

Five months after moving to Las Vegas, Jelly Roll told Bunnie he wanted to move back to Nashville. She later discovered the real reason wasn’t what he initially said. He was secretly communicating with a former girlfriend – someone he’d briefly dated before they started their relationship. While she had suspected something was wrong, she didn’t have proof. Bunnie also realized both she and Jelly Roll were still dealing with past hurts and hadn’t fully learned how to love properly.

Even though she suspected he wasn’t entirely enthusiastic about her joining them in Tennessee, she agreed, saying she would never leave their little family again.

I always believed that being open-minded and willing to include others would finally protect me from the heartbreak of cheating I’d faced before. We weren’t officially an open relationship, but honestly, if someone my partner was interested in wanted to join us, we usually wouldn’t say no. I really thought it would solve everything.

Bunnie wrote that if she ever wanted to be with someone else, her partner, “J,” had always given her permission to see other people. Initially, she felt insecure and wondered if his lack of jealousy meant he didn’t love her. However, she eventually understood his perspective.

She said it herself, and it just gets me – we both believe neither of us owns the other. It’s not about being ‘open,’ it’s about total freedom! We’re not possessions, we’re… something else entirely. It’s perfect, honestly. She understands. It’s just… so freeing to hear her say it.

Bunnie made it clear that while she valued their freedom, honesty was absolutely essential. She insisted, ‘Just don’t lie to me, and always keep me in the loop.’

She strongly suspected something was happening between Jelly Roll and a woman he used to be with. “For an entire year, this woman harassed me online,” she explained. “She’d use his song lyrics in posts, wear his band merchandise, and make little digs at me in her captions – all because she knew I thought they were involved. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any concrete evidence to prove it.”

Bunnie explained that when she questioned Jelly Roll about his posts, he would manipulate her and make her feel like she was the one with the problem.

Bunnie described how couples’ therapy didn’t help and their arguments and distrust continued for ten months. Eventually, things came to a head in a dramatic and messy way.

She came home from a trip to find that her husband had already left their house in Nashville. A conversation with his best friend’s wife sadly proved what she had feared – he wasn’t coming back.

Bunnie shared that she had considered suicide that night. She explained the pain she was feeling was overwhelming and she just wanted it to stop.

She decided to drive back to Las Vegas and was shocked to find out on Instagram that Jelly Roll had already publicly announced their breakup, even though he’d said he would wait a few months before doing so.

Bunnie explained that after everything that had happened – the disagreements, the pain, and the overall chaos with J – she’d finally reached her limit. She decided she was done talking to him for good.

They were completely committed to each other, through thick and thin, as Bunnie put it. She recounted how she listened to his tale – “about a drug dealer’s daughter he met at a bar” – and admitted, “And I believed him.”

Until a random number began blowing up his phone.

I suddenly realized who it was,” Bunnie said. “Her former casual boyfriend was still involved somehow, even though he’d insisted their relationship was completely over.”

Her trust in Jelly Roll demolished, she reached out to his affair partner for the full story.

Bunnie explained that she found out he bought a house for them both, intending for her to be a stay-at-home mother to his daughter, Bailee. She said what upset her most wasn’t a physical affair, but the emotional betrayal and him wanting her to raise a child she had grown to love as if it were her own.

Let me tell you, even when we forgive someone who’s hurt us deeply – and I’ve seen this so many times with couples – the heart doesn’t just magically heal. It changes. As Bunnie shared about her experience, it’s not that the love disappears; it transforms into something…more cautious. You still care, but there’s a vulnerability now, a guardedness. Trust gets chipped away, leaving cracks in your heart that are always there as a reminder.

Bunnie admitted things weren’t back to normal, and things got heated. She even confessed to hitting Jelly Roll after he said he didn’t regret his actions.

She wrote that it would take a long time to get over the affair and even longer to truly believe her partner loved her and didn’t see her as easily replaceable.

Now nearly seven years into the pair’s fertility journey, the pieces are starting to come together.

I was devastated when I found out my Fallopian tubes were blocked – it meant surgery, but even then there were no guarantees I could ever have a baby. But honestly, knowing how much IVF has improved over the years gave me hope. And then, an incredibly selfless woman offered to be our surrogate and carry twins for us! It’s all still so surreal, but we’re finally going to become parents!

Their plan is to use her eggs and his sperm and try for twins.

Bunnie responded to criticism about having children at her age with a defiant message, stating she doesn’t care what others think. She explained they plan to raise their babies with love and provide them with opportunities they didn’t have themselves, expressing excitement at seeing their children grow up and experience the world.

2026-06-16 19:23

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