Jelly Roll’s Wife, Who Struggles with Infertility, Helps Raise His 2 Children – She Changed His Life Following His Time in Jail

Jelly Roll, a country musician, has been married to Bunnie XO for nearly a decade. The rapper once revealed that his wife stepped in as a stepmother to his children, and being with her after serving time in prison helped change his life’s direction.

The Impact Made by the Love of His Life and Jelly’s One Marriage Rule

Jelly explained that he met Bunnie in 2015 during a period when he was still touring, broke, and living in an old van. At the time, Bunnie was working as a sex worker and a Las Vegas girl, with her own penthouse condo and two sports cars.

The couple met when Bunnie attended one of his shows with an abusive boyfriend. After they split, she reached out to Jelly through mutual friends. He was honest with her about his situation, admitting that he lived in a van, and asked if he could come to Vegas to shoot content.

The musician recalled sleeping on her couch the first night and then hooking up with her on the second. In 2016, during a Yelawolf and Deftones concert in Vegas, Jelly spontaneously proposed to her on stage, and she agreed.

After realizing a chapel was still open, they drove there while listening to Bruno Mars’s “Marry You” and made things official. Jelly has credited Bunnie as his best friend and a huge support in his life financially and otherwise, including helping him get his music career off the ground.

After seven years of marriage, the couple renewed their vows in 2023. Bunnie shared a clip of the occasion on Instagram, captioning it, “Lucky #7 🎰 Luckiest girl alive. Tonite was such a dream✨.”

To show his love for her, Jelly posted a picture in 2020 of his wife and his daughter, Bailee, cuddled in his arms. He captioned it, “It takes a special kind of woman to raise a kid that isn’t her child and still treat the child as if she was.”

The star described his wife as a special woman with a beautiful soul. He highlighted her patience, kindness, and care, noting that Bunnie’s relationship with his daughter had developed into a magical, beautiful mother-daughter bond over the years.

Jelly expressed, “I have truly been blessed with the best partner I could’ve asked for in life. You are the epitome of a good mom and deserve more credit than anyone because you didn’t have to step up to the plate the way you did.”

The singer emphasized how Bunnie managed to step up and excel, thanking her and declaring his love. She remained close to his heart, as evident in 2023, when he won the CMA Award for New Artist of the Year.

In his acceptance speech, Jelly said he had countless people to thank, “but most importantly, my Lord and my wife. I love you so much. You changed my life.” In a past interview, he also revealed a significant rule that has helped their marriage thrive.

The rapper explained that despite their busy schedules, they never spend more than two weeks apart. “Fourteen days has been our rule kind of from the beginning,” he stated. They also implemented this rule with his 16-year-old daughter, realizing long separations were challenging.

In 2020, Jelly responded to a question about their marriage’s secret, posting, “I didn’t even have to think about — it’s simple – we are comfortable having uncomfortable conversations, we prioritize communication, we have learn to laugh at the small [expletive], and above everything we don’t take anything to seriously. [sic]”

The singer praised Bunnie as the backbone of his life, describing her as smart, beautiful, witty, and silly. Before marrying her, he admitted to having legal troubles and being negligent toward the mother of his first child.

Meeting His Daughter

Jelly shared in a 2023 interview that he first met Bailee after his release from jail. He had been dating her mother, Felicia, before his arrest.

He met Bailee on her second birthday and spent the day grilling hot dogs and hamburgers. By 2023, his daughter was living with him and Bunnie, while his son Noah, from another relationship, frequently visited.

Jelly credited his wife as a “beacon of change” in his life. Reflecting on her influence, he shared, “You’re talking about a woman that came in and took a child that was soon to be born and a child that [we were] soon to have full custody of. I wouldn’t have had the stability or the money without her.”

In 2020, Bunnie showed how close she’d gotten to Bailee’s mother by inviting Felicia onto her “Dumb Blonde” podcast to discuss their co-parenting journey.

Bailee’s Mother Made Peace with Jelly and Bunnie

Jelly and Felicia started dating when she was 16, but he admitted he was more focused on his career than their troubled relationship. He was arrested while Felicia was pregnant and spent a year in jail in 2008.

Bailee was born on May 22, 2008, shortly after her father was incarcerated. When Jelly was released, he wanted to see his daughter, but Felicia refused, insisting he be a consistent presence in Bailee’s life first.

Eventually, they agreed to co-parent. However, Felicia’s struggles with substance abuse led to Jelly and Bunnie gaining full custody of Bailee in 2017. Without her daughter, Felicia’s addiction worsened, and she had no contact with Bailee for 16 months while serving time.

After her release, Felicia was granted visitation rights and later stayed with Jelly, Bunnie, and Bailee. Unfortunately, she relapsed and returned to jail for six weeks. After her release, Felicia cleaned up, secured a job, car, and sponsor, and now serves as house manager at a recovery house.

Felicia has since maintained a healthy relationship with her daughter, as well as with Jelly and his wife. Meanwhile, Bunnie’s strong bond with both of Jelly’s children was evident in a 2023 TikTok video featuring her and Noah.

Bonding with Noah

In the video, Bunnie is seen chatting with Noah, who shares that his favorite color is red and that he is six, soon turning seven. When asked about his favorite sport, Noah initially says “Pokemon” but then reveals it’s soccer when Bunnie playfully nudges him.

The boy shared that he likes soccer because it was the first sport he played. He adorably shared details about his likes and interests, including his love for the beach and playing in the water. When asked to choose his favorite between his father and sister, the boy hilariously chose his sister.

Noah also shared that between a dog and a cat, he’d rather have both. When asked if he wanted to be a surfer in the future, the little boy adorably yelled, “No!” The clip highlights the warm bond between the pair, but earlier this year, Bunnie revealed she faced a medical issue.

Bunnie’s Infertility Issues

During an interview, Jelly’s wife opened up about her struggles with infertility and her ongoing journey with in-vitro fertilization (IVF). In the “Lonely Road” music video, the couple gave fans a glimpse of their challenges in starting a family.

Bunnie explained the importance of discussing infertility openly, stating, “There are a lot of women who struggle with infertility, and for some reason, we’re shamed and not supposed to talk about it. It kind of gives you a scarlet letter, like, ‘Oh, she can’t have babies.'”

She expressed her desire to shift the narrative, adding, “We’re women who just want a piece of us running around in the world.” While she initially thought she didn’t want children, being with Jelly and seeing him with his kids changed her perspective.

After eight years together, Bunnie realized, “You know what? I would love a little you.” Seeing him with his two children from his previous relationships, she knows he’s a good father.

Her wish to have a child with her husband is what makes her believe that more attention should be given to women facing infertility, emphasizing the need for them to be heard. With the couple now financially stable, Jelly revealed in an earlier interview that they are working toward a milestone together. Their goal is to bring another child into their family.

Planning for the Future

In a June 4, 2024 interview on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast, Jelly spoke candidly about his life, health, and plans for the future. He shared that he and Bunnie are planning to have a baby and that he was motivated to focus on his health.

Bunnie shared a clip of his revelation on Instagram, captioning it, “God Willing- Baby DeFord 2026 💫 @bussinwtb.” Jelly admitted that he had never envisioned living beyond 55 or 56 but now aims to live until 60 to see their child graduate from college.

But to get to that age, the star has had to make some changes in his life because he’s pre-diabetic. Jelly shared that he wears something called the Libra, which monitors his blood sugar levels in real time.

The singer’s life has been changed by the device as he would eat certain foods to see the effect they had on his blood sugar. He confessed, “Now I just want to eat better ’cause I feel better.”

A few months before his interview, Jelly revealed he had lost over 70 pounds while preparing for a 5K run, noting, “I feel really good.” Despite his progress in life, he and Bunnie have faced other challenging moments in their relationship.

Emergency Landings and Medical Issues

In April 2024, while traveling to Austin, Texas, ahead of the CMT Music Awards, Jelly and Bunnie’s plane had to make an emergency landing. Bunnie documented the incident in a TikTok video where the pilot explained the plane had to turn around due to a computer issue.

Thankfully, the couple was unharmed. However, a few months later, Bunnie shared details of a significant health scare.

In August 2024, during the Ask, Tell, Confess segment of her podcast, Bunnie revealed that she had experienced a “death scare.” She began noticing headaches after eating certain foods but couldn’t determine the cause.

After a friend sent her a TikTok about aneurysms, Bunnie became anxious, even believing she had manifested the illness, and ended up having a panic attack. She contacted her doctor for an MRI at 2 a.m., leading to a diagnosis of an aneurysm on her carotid artery. These are major blood vessels that provide your brain’s blood supply.

Bunnie recalled feeling the blood rush from her head to her feet. She reflected on the moment, revealing that aneurysms are her greatest fear because her mother nearly died from one.

The incident with her mother led her to undergo MRIs starting in her teenage years, as she has a 50% chance of a rupture due to her parent’s condition. Her diagnosis meant she could no longer exercise and if something grabbed her by the neck, it could cause a rupture.

Bunnie reacted to the news by crying so hard that she pulled a muscle in her neck and fell to her knees to pray. Her doctor eventually asked her to undergo a CT scan as well, all within three days.

While waiting for the results, Bunnie couldn’t sleep, had diarrhea, was sweaty, and had irritable bowel syndrome. She was so stressed that she lost four pounds. Doctors discovered she had a two-millimeter aneurysm on her carotid artery, but she was reassured that she could manage the condition.

While Jelly’s wife has been running her podcast for years, some people were confused to hear she only recently retired from being a sex worker.

Clearing the Air

Sharing a screenshot in March 2024 from a confused fan who couldn’t understand how Bunnie had been married for seven years but gave up sex work only a year ago, the star tackled the issue. She explained that she’s always worked and made her own money.

When she married Jelly Roll, she didn’t want to give up her independence to rely solely on him. Bunnie XO confessed that he once mentioned wanting her to quit one day, and in 2018, she started her brand, funding it with money from her sex work.

Two years later, she decided to retire from seeing clients, launched her OnlyFans account, and made millions. By 2022, her brand was generating as much money as, if not more than, she had made as a sex worker.

With her brand thriving, she decided to fully retire in 2023. Bunnie concluded, “Best decision I ever made. The rest is history baby!”

The couple continues their journey with optimism as they prepare to expand their family.