Jelly Roll clears up truth of what happened with Bunnie Xo as pair split after almost 10 years
Jelly Roll called estranged wife Bunnie Xo his 'best friend' following a shock divorce filing.
It was recently confirmed that the 41-year-old was divorcing his wife of 10 years, with TMZ claiming the couple were separating over ‘irreconcilable differences’ after splitting on 9 May.
Now, the country singer - real name Jason Bradley DeFord - has addressed the news publicly for the first time while onstage last night (18 June), calling the internet a 'liar' over the rumours circulating over the split.
"While we're talking about liars, the internet is a liar too," Jelly Roll told fans in attendance at a show on his Little ASS Shed Tour, which was recorded by fans and shared on Instagram.
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"This is the only time and the only city I'm going to speak about this, so break your camera phones out now."
Going on to address Bunnie Xo as his 'best friend', he continued: "Me and my wife are best friends, we will always be best friends. I will love her. She will probably be the only woman I'll ever love the way I loved her.
"Nobody cheated on nobody," he said, before plugging Bunnie's recent episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast, in which she addresses the split.
"You can go watch it," he added. "Every word of it is the truth.
"That will be my best friend forever."
Watch the entire moment below:
Bunnie's podcast episode had been posted earlier that day, with the 46-year-old revealing the divorce hadn't impacted the former couple's decision to have a baby together.
“You guys are going to be shocked, but we’re still having a baby. We’re still having a baby together,” she said, explaining that they would co-parent together.
"I'm so excited to live my life through a child's eyes, which is why this baby journey, I'm not going to let it break me, and I'm not going to deter it," she continued.
"And J has been so f***ing great about us still having a baby together and he wants the same thing. And we're just going to raise little Nugget as one big happy family."
The podcaster, real name Alisa DeFord, also revealed that her soon-to-be ex-husband was already back in the dating pool. "Has my husband started dating? Yes, he has - and we're happy for him," she said.
"And I'm excited to discover myself single."
Bunnie also shared her opinion on the type of woman she thought Jelly Roll would be after, saying he needs a 'sweet girl' who isn't 'trying to be an influencer'.
"No offence to anybody, but I think he wants the complete opposite of me, which is what he deserves," she added.
Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo relationship timeline
August 2015
Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo meet at one of the former’s shows at the Las Vegas Country Saloon. This was before Jelly Roll enjoyed mainstream success. He’s living in a van and only around 20 people are at the gig. They talk backstage. At the time, Bunnie is dating someone else.
Later, Bunnie splits from her ex and asks a friend to give her Jelly Roll’s number. Bunnie says Jelly Roll would call and text her for advice about his daughter Bailee, from a previous relationship.
July 2016
The pair’s relationship turns romantic when Jelly Roll travels to Vegas to film a music video and Bunnie offers to put him up at her place.
August 2016
Jelly Roll proposes to Bunnie onstage at a Yelawolf and Deftones concert in Las Vegas. He tells her: “[I wanna know] will your fine a** marry my white trash a** tonight in Las Vegas?” That night, they tie the knot at The Little White Chapel.
23 August 2016
Jelly Roll welcomes a son, Noah Buddy, with an ex. In 2016, Jelly Roll and Bunnie are also granted primary custody of Bailee due to her mother’s substance abuse issues.
2018
Jelly Roll cheats on Bunnie, and the pair temporarily separate. Jelly Roll later calls the affair ‘one of the worst moments of his adulthood’.
He says he ‘did a lot of work to repair that relationship’ on the Human School podcast. They rekindle their relationship later that year.
2019
Bunnie launches the Dumb Blonde podcast, which goes on to be a massive success, with Dolly Parton and MGK appearing as guests.
2022
Jelly Roll’s music takes off in a big way. His single ‘Son of a Sinner’ hits No. 1 on Billboard's US Country Airplay chart.
March 2023
Bunnie deletes her OnlyFans and leaves the sex industry behind.
31 August 2023
Bunnie and Jelly Roll return to The Little White Chapel in Vegas to renew their vows.
June 2024
Bunnie reveals on Instagram that the couple have decided to undergo IVF. She writes: “W/all odds stacked against us, it’s always been hard & we have only just begun.”
February 2026
Bunnie says that following Jelly Roll’s 275 pound weight loss, his penis has gotten ‘severely bigger’.
9 May 2026
The date of separation in Jelly Roll and Bunnie's divorce filing. Bunnie later reveals the couple have an argument, and she says in anger: “Well, then file the f**king divorce papers.”
Jelly Roll packs a bag and the couple don’t speak for weeks.
18 May 2026
Jelly Roll files for divorce, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’.
Lawyer Holly Davis - who doesn’t represent either party - tells People: “It's a very neutral and agreement-oriented filing. It doesn't look like a contested divorce filing.”
18 June 2026
Bunnie opens up on her podcast Dumb Blonde about the end of her marriage.
She says there was no cheating, and she and Jelly Roll are still planning to have a baby via IVF and co-parent it together.
Her IVF journey took a heartbreaking strain on her mental health, and she says it ‘wrecked me emotionally, spiritually, physically’.
She adds: “It was not mutual. Even though I told him to file the divorce papers, I was speaking out of anger and frustration. But was it necessary for us to have a wakeup call and to actually start having these real conversations? Absolutely.”
She adds that Jelly Roll is already dating other people, and she is ‘excited to discover myself single’.
The same night, Jelly Roll addresses speculation around the divorce onstage at Saratoga Springs, New York, saying the internet ‘is a liar’.
He adds: “Me and my wife are best friends, we will always be best friends. I will love her. She will probably be the only woman I'll ever love the way I loved her.”
Brenna Cooper