Jelly Roll’s wife Bunnie XO has broken her silence on their shock divorce as she revealed the fight that finally ended their 10-year marriage for good.
The blonde bombshell, 46, addressed the split news for the first time in the new episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast, which was released Thursday.
The podcast comes just days after it was revealed that Jelly Roll – born Jason Bradley DeFord – had filed for divorce from Bunnie – born Alisa DeFord – in May.
She teared up at several points as she detailed the tension in her relationship with her now-estranged husband and why it ended up being a ‘recipe for disaster.’
‘[Jelly Roll] and I have never really been good at having disagreements,’ Bunnie admitted.
She described her and Jelly Roll as ‘the type of couple who never argued.’
Jelly Roll’s wife Bunnie XO has broken her silence on their shock divorce as she revealed the fight that finally ended their 10-year marriage for good
‘So, he would be holding things in. I would be holding things in, and that’s a recipe for disaster.’
Things between the couple came to a head on Mother’s Day of this year, with Bunnie detailing her and Jelly Roll’s final explosive argument before he filed for divorce.
‘On Mother’s Day, we had a little bit of an argument, which I don’t think the details are necessary,’ Bunnie revealed.
‘And, in that argument, I was so fed up and so tired that I just looked at him and said, ‘Well, then file the f**king divorce papers.”
She claimed the heated argument ended with her packing up her belongings and leaving her husband of over 10 years.
‘In our relationship, that is the one cardinal thing that you don’t say, even though my husband has said it numerous times ’cause he’s the runner,’ Bunnie said of her ‘divorce papers’ taunt.
‘But, when I say it, it really holds weight because I’m not the type of person who says what I don’t mean.’
Jelly Roll filed for divorce from Bunnie last month in Tennessee, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail.
He cited ‘irreconcilable differences’ in the filing, which was lodged on May 18 and lists May 9 as the couple’s date of separation.
Sources told TMZ the split was a ‘mutual decision’ and remains a ‘private family matter.’
The blonde bombshell, 46, addressed the split news for the first time in the new episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast , which was released Thursday; seen in February
Bunnie XO teared up at several points as she detailed the tension in her relationship with her now-estranged husband and why it ended up being a ‘recipe for disaster’
The singer is being represented by Rose Palermo, who has handled some of the most difficult and complex divorces in Nashville and was retained by Kristin Cavallari in her divorce from Jay Cutler.
The news broke on Monday night, sending shocked fans into a frenzy as they tried to pinpoint signs of trouble in past social media posts.
That same day, a moving truck was pictured in front of the couple’s $6.5 million home near Nashville and boxes were seen leaving, though it is unclear which of the two was moving out.
They bought the five-bedroom, seven-bath mansion in late 2023.
Bunnie first fueled speculation hours before Monday’s split news broke as she posted a lip-syncing video to the 2001 Nickelback breakup song How You Remind Me.
Then on Wednesday night, two days after the news broke, she followed up by mouthing the lyrics to Jelly Roll’s 2018 song No Limit (Freestyle).
She also hinted that she would be discussing the divorce news on her podcast as she captioned, ‘Podcast coming..’
The last time they were seen together in public was Bunnie’s book tour stop on February 24 where he made a surprise appearance and performed for the sold-out crowd.
Jelly Roll and Bunnie were married in 2016 and their relationship wasn’t always smooth sailing.
The three-time Grammy winner publicly admitted that he cheated on his wife in 2018. He called the affair ‘one of the worst moments’ of his adult life, attributing the infidelity to substance abuse and a toxic circle of friends at the time.
Bunnie recently opened up about the ups and downs of the couple’s marriage revealing it’s important to love someone even when they are ‘at their lowest’ because ‘everybody deserves a second chance.’
‘When you are with somebody for a long time, you are going to have to love them at their lowest. And I truly believe that true love is not about so much as accepting things that you shouldn’t, but I do think that everybody deserves a second chance,’ she told People earlier this year.
Jelly Roll filed for divorce from Bunnie last month in Tennessee, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail
He cited ‘irreconcilable differences’ in the filing, which was lodged on May 18 and lists May 9 as the couple’s date of separation
‘Loving somebody at their lowest is one of the most beautiful things you can do, especially if they bloom and they blossom like my husband has.’
Back in February, Jelly Roll made a moving speech at the 2026 Grammy Awards as he accepted the prize for Best Contemporary Country Album for Beautifully Broken, and crediting his wife with saving his life.
‘I would have never changed my life without you. I’d have ended up dead or in jail. I’d have killed myself if it wasn’t for you and Jesus,’ he said.
Jelly Roll has also changed his life over the last few years by embarking on a weight loss journey and he recently confessed he has ‘lost [his] way’ but vowed to get back on track.
The father-of-two weighed over 500lbs in 2023 but had slimmed down to 265lbs on the day he shot a Men’s Health magazine cover last November.
He admitted he had been ‘avoiding the scale’ over the last few months after deciding to ‘enjoy the holidays’ and indulge in ‘big meals,’ as well as being less active due to an injury.
He was scared to have a new weigh in ahead of returning to his diet.
Speaking in a YouTube video, Jelly Roll said: ‘We hit the goal and it was right before the holidays, so I was like, ‘You know what man, I’ve been working hard for the last three years losing this weight, I’m going to enjoy the holidays.’
‘I had a big Thanksgiving meal, I had a big birthday meal, I ate a big Christmas meal. Kinda got off the rails and I broke my collarbone… a few days before Christmas.’
Jelly Roll and Bunnie have been very candid about how his former size and weight made intimacy extremely difficult, with Jelly Roll once describing their sex life as ‘horrible’ on The Joe Rogan Experience.
His transformation, however, made him feel like he had ‘the sex drive of a 17-year-old’ again, as he told Men’s Health.
News of the divorce comes on the heels of Bunnie’s admission that they’d found a potential surrogate in their quest to expand their family.
Jelly Roll is already dad to two children from previous relationships, daughter Bailey Ann, 18, and son Noah Buddy, nine.
‘Now that we’re finally stable financially and somewhat emotionally after all the healing we’ve done over this decade together, we’re talking about the future – including growing our family,’ Bunnie wrote in her memoir, Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic, which was released on February 17.
‘J and I have a surrogate, the sweetest woman ever, and soon I’ll be starting my IVF stims,’ she said, adding that she waited a long time ‘to have kids with someone I knew would be a great father.’
