Jelly Roll's Marriage With Bunnie Xo Hasn't Been The Easiest, But Here's How They Make It Work

Highlights

Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo's relationship has faced controversy and adversity, but they maintain a strong bond and are regarded as relationship goals.
They first met when Jelly Roll was broke and living out of a van, while Bunnie Xo was a high-end escort in Las Vegas making real money.
Despite cheating and divorce rumors, Bunnie Xo's relationship with Jelly Roll's daughter and their plans to renew their vows show they are still going strong.

Jelly Roll and his wife Bunnie Xo's relationship has been a rollercoaster ride that fans don't mind riding. The pair is known for their raw and unabashed honesty when it comes to their relationship, often overly generous when it comes to the details surrounding their whirlwind romance. Just like any rollercoaster, though, with everything climb in their relationship has come a series of falls in the form of controversy surrounding the couple. From cheating and divorce rumors to break-ups and make-ups, it's a wonder how the couple maintain such a strong bond to this day.

Regardless of the adversity the couple has faced, their marriage has been regarded as goals for many fans. Somehow, they've become the blueprint to many of their fans for what unconditional love truly is. It seems nothing that has come their way could deter the pair from sticking it through together. So what's their secret? How does a country star who used to live out of a van make it work with a former Vegas escort-turned-podcaster? Let's look into the Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo's journey.

How Jelly Roll Met His Wife, Bunnie Xo

Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo have one of the most shocking "how they met" stories. . Jelly Roll, fresh out of prison, was attempting to make a career in the music industry, playing gigs for a few hundred bucks while he lived out of his car. Bunnie Xo, on the other hand, was living a slightly less impoverished lifestyle working as a high-end escort in Las Vegas. “When I met her I was like living out of a ’96 van and I was doing $100 a night shows…I was dead broke, and she just kind of took to me," Jelly Roll told Bert Kreischer, on the Bertcast podcast. And she was really making money in the sex work industry. Like, real money. I didn’t know that existed."

He continued, "Where I’m from a prostitute is like ‘Two dolla holla!’ You know what I’m saying? It’s like ‘I’ll s*** your d*** for $50.’This was, I mean…15, 20…real money. If she ever writes a book…we’re talking about like CEOs of oil companies. People you know.”"

The "Son of a Sinner" crooner likes to joke that they met at a "plus-size male strip club", but the truth is that they first crossed paths when the singer was opening at the Las Vegas Country Saloon. The singer admitted that Bunnie didn't even know who he was at the time. ""We hit it off," he says. "She said she fell in love with the saddest eyes in the room."

Bunnie had then invited Jelly Roll to crash at her pad in Vegas and in a short matter of time, their romance ignited. Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Deford, said that he went from crashing on her couch to eventually sleeping in her bed. Their relationship has often been judged since, with many assuming that Bunnie is a gold-digger of sort— an assertion that Jelly Roll laughs off. "I get tickled pink," he says, laughing. "I love it when they call her a gold digger, that's my favorite thing. She hates it. It infuriates her, it just flames her up."

"But it just tickles me pink because when I met her, I was homeless living out of a '96 conversion van. If anyone was digging for gold, it was I, Popeye. I was the one that was over here searching. I was couch surfing and made it to the bedroom," he adds.

Does Jelly Roll's Wife Get Along With His Daughter?

One of Jelly Roll's most vivid memories was the day that he became a father. The singer was actually incarcerated when he found out the news. “I’m sitting in there, and that guard knocks on my door May 22nd, 2008… He goes ‘you had a kid today,’ and he walked away. I still get emotional," Jelly Roll recalled. "It’s like a Damascus road experience in the Bible. I immediately…was like I’ve got to do something. I’ve got to quit this sh*t. I’ve got to figure it out.”

What's even more heartwarming is Bunnie Xo's relationship with his daughter, Bailee Ann— who was born May 22, 2008. What many people don't know is that Bunnie Xo helped Jelly Roll get full custody of his daughter. The pair have been raising Bailee Ann together since 2016 and Jelly Roll has expressed his gratitude for Bunnie's ability to love his daughter as if she were her own. "She's helped me raise my daughter. We've had custody of her the last nine years. It just takes a real selfless person to help raise a child they didn't birth," he says, gushing.

On her podcast, Dumb Blonde, Bunnie also opened up about leaving her days as an escort behind and how being in Bailee Ann's life was instrumental in her decision. "There’s a little girl who came into my life, and she stole my heart and I don’t want her to feel like she ever has to sell her body to support herself,” Bunnie said.

What Bunnie Xo Has Said About Those Jelly Roll Cheating And Divorce Rumors

After a brief split in 2018, many began to speculate that there were major issues between Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo, namely infidelity. Bunnie opened up about her breakup in a video titled "The Breakup Vlog" on July 13, 2018, but refrained from going into further detail as to why the pair split saying that she has "her version" and Jelly Roll has his. However, it wasn't long before the couple reconciled in 2020 and bought a house together. Regardless of their making up, rumors of the pair divorcing and infidelity still remained.

As to what Bunnie has said about the cheating rumors, just look to her TikTok account where she claps back at haters and posts videos about how Jelly Roll would never cheat on her. As for rumors of their divorce, the couple actually has made plans to renew their vows this year showing that they are, in fact, still going strong.

In a recent interview on the Superstar Power Hour with Audacy’s Katie and Company, Jelly said, “Everybody says to do it in 10 years, but we’ve heard about the 7-year itch. So we’re like, let’s get ahead of this thing. Let’s double down on year seven.”

How Jelly Roll And Bunnie Xo Stay Connected

Bunnie Xo and Jelly Roll maintain a connection in their relationship in a myriad of ways. It's clear that the pair support each other's separate endeavors unconditionally. Jelly Roll has often appeared on many episodes his wife's podcast Dumb Blonde, and Bunnie even does meet-and-greets while traveling on tour with her husband.

Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo's relationship has long been scrutinized, especially when it comes to their personal life. One detail in particular was the shocking news that they join a list of celebrities who have been involved in open relationships confessing they invite other individuals into their relationship. Both of the pair have spoken out about this aspect of their relationship on a daily basis and have endured waves of shaming over their private life. Jelly Roll actually cited it as one of his favorite parts of touring when he and Bunnie are on the road together, and Bunnie has clapped back at haters on TikTok who have judged what they do behind closed doors.

"We don't have a label. We have an understanding— a partnership. We have a love that is free of trying to control the other person." she said

In the TikTok, Bunnie explained that she and Jelly Roll set boundaries and maintain excellent communication especially in regard to what and who they deal with behind closed doors. She also posited the question as to how anything involving their private life has anything to do with how far they've come as a couple.

"I don't understand how that takes away from how many years of work, dedication, loyalty, trust and bull**** that we've been through. It doesn't." she said.