Highlights
- Jelly Roll’s notoriety in country music is due to his relatable lyrics and includes three CMT Music Awards and a Grammy nomination.
- Bunnie Xo, Jelly Roll’s wife, financially supported him and helped him gain custody of his daughter.
- Bunnie Xo built her own successful career as a social media influencer and podcast host, earning a higher net worth than Jelly Roll.
Jelly Roll is one of the biggest acts in country music today. When his songs, “Need a Favor” and “Son of a Sinner” were released, the notoriety that Jelly Roll had worked so long for was recognized. Much of Jelly Roll’s notoriety had to do with the relatable lyrics in his songs. Not only was Jelly Roll becoming a household name, but his work was also being acknowledged by the country music community with his three CMT Music Awards and Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist in 2023.
Life was not always easy for Jelly Roll, however. Born Jason DeFord, Jelly Roll had run-ins with the law from a young age. He was only 14 years old when he was arrested for the first time and then Jelly Roll was charged as an adult and incarcerated for aggravated robbery when he was just 16 years old. Jelly Roll was an addict who still has addictive behaviors today. It was also during his time in prison that Jelly Roll’s daughter, Bailee Ann, was born.
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Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo’s marriage has survived some major setbacks, but they’re still going strong.
Recognizing that he needed to change for himself and his daughter, Jelly Roll began doing the work to gain custody of his daughter. But at the end of the day, Jelly Roll had little to his name, even with his music career beginning to take off. Fortunately, he met Bunnie Xo at just the right time in his life, as Jelly Roll would still be broke if it was not for his wife, Bunnie Xo. Further still, were it not for Bunnie Xo, Jelly Roll may not have gotten custody of his daughter as quickly as he did.
Bunnie Xo Was More Successful Than Jelly Roll When They Met
Bunnie Xo made up to $40,000 per day when she met Jelly Roll
Bunnie Xo and Jelly Roll first met in 2015. At the time, Jelly Roll was still working his way through the rock and country music ranks, debating which route he would take for his career. Bunnie Xo was in an abusive relationship when the two first became acquainted. But, when she ended that relationship, she reached out to Jelly Roll. Jelly Roll, in turn, was open to meeting up with the blonde beauty, who at the time, was more successful and had more money than the up-and-coming country star did.
Before being linked to Jelly Roll, Bunnie Xo had made quite a bit of money being a high-end escort. In fact, she continued the work after Bunnie Xo and Jelly Roll became a couple because it paid so well.
“Literally, I would make $30, $40,000 a night,” Bunnie Xo explained. “I had sugar daddies who gave me half a million dollars. I’ve had cars bought for me. Just, diamonds, jewelry, just whatever you can think of dude.”
Bunnie Xo went on to say, “It’s not like I was ever feeding a drug habit. I always treated work like it was a business.”
On the other hand, Jelly Roll was a struggling musician. However, that did not stop Bunnie Xo from taking a liking to him. She heard that he was coming out to Las Vegas for a show, where Bunnie Xo lived. She invited Jelly Roll to stay with her, and the rest is history.
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“I’m not going to act like I shot my shot. She kind of shot hers,” Jelly Roll stated. We had mutual friends. She said, ‘Yo. Just plug me in with Jelly.’ And I hit her on some other s–t. I was like, ‘Yo. I’m going to be coming out to shoot some content and video stuff. She was like, ‘Yeah! C’mon!’ I was like, ‘Cool, well I’m living in my van, so I’ll leave now.’”
It was during this time that Jelly Roll told Bunnie Xo that he wanted to gain custody of his daughter. Bunnie Xo was completely on board with Jelly Roll doing so, so much so that Bunnie Xo put up her own money to make it happen.
Bunnie Xo “Bankrolled” Jelly Roll’s Efforts To Gain Custody Of His Daughter
Bunnie Xo put up her own money to help Jelly Roll get full custody of his daughter
Jelly Roll was aware that his daughter, Bailee, was living in a bad situation with her mother. This was because Bailee’s mom had become addicted to drugs. Jelly Roll knew that he had to get Bailee out of the situation, but he had nothing to show to a court that would make him a better option, given that he did not have a home or stability.
But, with the help of Bunnie Xo, Jelly Roll got custody of his daughter, something that Jelly Roll thanks his wife for every day.
“I don’t have a house. I’m homeless,” Jelly recalled of the time before he got custody of his daughter. “So [Bunnie Xo’s] like, ‘Well, the first thing we have to do is get you somewhere to live in Nashville.’ I was like, ‘Well, I can’t put it in my name. I’m a felon. I don’t have enough proof of income to get the kind of place we’d need to get her in the right school district.’ Bunnie’s like, ‘Let’s just go get a condo so you have a bedroom for her.’”
Jelly Roll went on to explain, “She said, ‘No matter what happens with us, I’m gonna help you get this little girl.’ And I was like, ‘Man, what character.’”
Jelly Roll has been clear in interviews that had Bunnie Xo not had the financial means at the time, Bailee would not have gotten out of the living situation she was in as quickly as she did.
“… Dude, I’m broke. I can’t afford the lawyer. I can’t afford anything,” Jelly Roll said of that time. “What am I, gonna put the kid in the van? I’m living out of, like, a ’96 van. And Bunnie’s like, ‘I’ll help you.’ So Bunnie bankrolled the whole s–t. And she never talks about that. It’s a true story.”
Bunnie Xo recalled why she was so willing to help Jelly Roll, even though she did not know if the two would end up together.
“It spoke to my heart because I’m a product of an addict,” Bunnie Xo stated. “My dad was a musician. My mom was a stripper. I didn’t get to meet my real mother until I was 36 years old, because she left me on a doorstep.”
Jelly Roll Was In Prison When His Daughter Was Born, But This Is How His Wife Helped Him Get Her Back
Jelly Roll’s single, “Son of a Sinner” put him on the music map, but in truth he says he attributes his wife Bunnie for his start, and his daughter.
Bunnie Xo went on to say, “When we went over to Bailee’s mom’s house — and this was in the mist of all this — I walked in and Bailee didn’t even have a bed. She was sleeping on a chair. And she was there taking care of her two, two or three little cousins, making them food. Literally all she was doing was making them bread with peanut butter on it. And it broke my heart.”
In the end, it was Bunnie Xo’s career before Jelly Roll that helped the two make a better life for Bailee by getting Jelly Roll custody. But that is not where Bunnie Xo’s help ended for Jelly Roll. With her help, Bunnie Xo not only helped Jelly Roll become a country superstar but built a career for herself at the same time.
Bunnie Xo Helped Jelly Roll With His Career While Building Her Own
Bunnie Xo changed careers and became more successful than she was when she met Jelly Roll
As Jelly Roll was starting to gain recognition for his singing talents, Bunnie Xo wanted to be known as more than Jelly Roll’s wife. While she was helping to promote Jelly Roll and get his country music career on track, Bunnie Xo was working on changing career paths herself. Bunny Xo would eventually earn a net worth higher than Jelly Roll’s, despite his successful singing career.
Bunnie Xo did not want Jelly Roll’s daughter to think that the only way she could make money was with her body. As such, Bunnie Xo decided to take on social media to see if she could make a living. Not only did Bunnie Xo make a living, on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok but when she launched her podcast, Bunnie Xo’s career as a host took off like lightning.
“Watching the podcast grow tremendously this year makes my heart so full,” Bunnie Xo said after one year of her podcast, Dumb Blonde had been up and running. “We’re doing this organically without a machine backing us and I’m proud to say ‘Dumb Blonde’ averages 30,000+ downloads a month.”
Bunnie Xo became so successful with her podcast and as a social media influencer, that she was signed by William Morris Endeavor Agency. After that happened, the sky was the limit.
“THANK YOU FOR 1.7 million downloads for the podcast in January!” Bunnie Xo wrote in January 2023. “I can’t express to you how excited I am to be signed [with] WME now & watching the Bunnie Xo brand grow even bigger.”
Given the levels of success that Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo have experienced, it could have changed who they are as people. But from all appearances, the couple are the same people they were when they started out in the entertainment industry, years ago.
Source: NewsFinale
