Highlights
- Bunnie XO says infidelity didn’t cause her split from Jelly Roll, despite online rumors.
- Sources point to a clash between Jelly Roll’s faith and Bunnie’s past as a split reason.
- Bunnie confirms she and Jelly Roll are still having a baby together via surrogate.
Bunnie XO is setting the record straight on her divorce from Jelly Roll, and she wants fans to know the split has not derailed their plans to become parents.
The Dumb Blonde podcast host, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, addressed her split from the “Need a Favor” singer for the first time on Thursday’s episode of her show. Jelly Roll, born Jason DeFord, filed for divorce on May 18 in Williamson County, Tennessee, citing “irreconcilable differences” after nearly a decade of marriage.
Bunnie made clear that infidelity was not the cause this time around, shutting down speculation that had circulated online since news of the filing broke. “Nobody cheated on the other person,” she said, adding, “It’s literally just we served our purpose for each other.”
She described the dynamic between her and the country star as anything but typical. “We’re going to co-parent together,” she said on the episode. “J is my best friend. Like, this isn’t what you guys think this is. Nobody cheated on the other person. We just served our purpose for each other.”
According to Bunnie, the tension that led to the filing built gradually over the past year as the couple grew less open with one another, culminating in an argument around Mother’s Day. She has said the decision to divorce was “not mutual” for her, even as the marriage had been strained.
Reports have also pointed to a deeper rift tied to Jelly Roll’s evolving relationship with faith. A source close to the situation told the Daily Mail that the singer’s increasingly public Christianity created friction with Bunnie’s past, telling the outlet, “There is just such a conflict in what’s going on. He’s preaching this Christian way of life. She’s posing mostly naked and talking about porn and penises on her podcast.”
Featuring: Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO
Where: Frisco, Texas, United States
When: 16 May 2024
Credit: Media Punch/INSTARimages
Despite the split, the baby news remains the headline for fans who have followed the couple’s years-long fertility struggles. “We’re still having a baby together,” Bunnie said on Thursday’s episode.
The couple revealed in February that they had secured a surrogate after Bunnie’s fallopian tubes were found to be blocked, a discovery that pushed them toward IVF starting in 2019. In her memoir Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic, released that same month, Bunnie wrote about finding a surrogate willing to carry twins for them.
She wrote in the memoir, “I’ve waited this long to have kids with someone I knew would be a great father, and to be able to make sure they have the best life.”
Bunnie also opened up about how grueling the hormone treatments were on both of them. She described becoming a “shell” during the process, while saying Jelly Roll was difficult to be around once treatments began.
Now, even with the marriage ending, Bunnie insists the baby plan is moving forward exactly as designed. “I feel so powerful and I feel so inspired to just live life,” she said. “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 detour it.”
Jelly Roll and Bunnie married in Las Vegas in August 2016 after meeting at one of his concerts the year before, and they renewed their vows in 2023 at the same venue. Jelly Roll is also father to two children, Bailee and Noah, from previous relationships.
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