Jelly Roll is filing for divorce from Bunnie XO after nearly a decade

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Jelly Roll has filed for divorce from his wife Bunnie Xo.
The country star filed the papers on May 18 in Williamson County, Tennessee, according to court records viewed by Fox News Digital.
Jelly Roll listed the date of the breakup as May 9, and cited irreconcilable differences.
Bunnie, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, and Jelly Roll tied the knot in August 2016 during a whirlwind party in Las Vegas, after meeting the year before.
Fox News Digital has reached out to representatives for Jelly Roll for comment.
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Jelly Roll has filed for divorce from Bunnie Xo after more than nine years of marriage. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
She became a foster mother to a country singer’s daughter, Bailey, and son, Noah.
A few months ago, during the 2026 Grammys – which took place in February – Jelly Roll, 41, and Bunnie Xo, 46, showed PDA.
The couple were in love when they walked the red carpet together and when they were inside the venue.
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Jelly Roll also gave him a standing ovation after winning the Grammy for Best Contemporary Country Album.
Bunnie has opened up about their on-and-off relationship in her memoir, “Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic.”
The “Dumb Blonde” podcast host opened up about her chaotic upbringing and the highs and lows that defined the early years of her relationship with the singer-songwriter.
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Long before they became one of country music’s most watched couples, the pair faced some tough realities — including the night Bunnie learned that Jelly Roll’s ex was waiting for her “in the hotel room down the street.”

Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo attended the 68th Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 1, 2026. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
“When I found out about it, I was devastated,” he told Fox News Digital in February. “I felt bad because I didn’t think he would be the only person who would do that. I thought he was different. And at that moment, my heart ached. But instead of being angry with him, I asked myself, ‘Why do I keep attracting these kinds of men?’
Bunnie admitted that she didn’t see a normal wedding.
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“I think that many people must realize that we are entering this wedding, we were not traditional grooms,” he explained.
“I was a working girl, and he was an ex-drug dealer – gangster-turned-struggle musician. There’s a different set of rules on the street than what I would call traditional marriages. If you’ve never lived that lifestyle, you won’t understand. But, cheating is wrong across the board – it doesn’t matter.”
In the memoir, Bunnie also recalled reading about the allegations that she was fired.
“Are you—-playing with me?” he wrote. “We had an agreement…. People started DMing me on social media, telling me that J was going out with his ex. The pieces started to come together, it was easy to break up with him…. I kept quiet without picking up J’s phone or answering it.”
Shortly after, Bunnie wrote, Jelly Roll released his 2018 album, “Waylon & Willie II.”

Jelly Roll and Bunnie have had some rough times during their relationship. (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
“Have you ever listened to those songs?” he wrote. “Go and listen, you’ll hear the man thrashing between lovers, pouring out his lyrical charges…. To this day, I still hate most of the songs on that album, and I can’t listen to it to this day.”
Looking back, Bunnie told Fox News Digital that there were many reasons his first “fairy tale” turned out to be a nightmare.
“It’s not that much that was going on in our marriage,” she said. “It was more than my husband having a hard time letting go of the past. It was hard to let go of the past. And we didn’t think the relationship would work.
“I think a lot of it was confidence on both parts. My husband didn’t think he would ever meet a woman who really loved him and wanted to see him succeed without some of them wanting to change her…. And I had brought so much weight to the relationship.”
“I had gotten out of a really abusive relationship,” she recalled. “The first person I ever saw cheating was my father. So I didn’t really believe in traditional marriage at the same time. There are too many factors that make things happen the way they do.”

Bunny Xo spoke to Fox News Digital in February about their marriage. (Christopher Polk/Penske Media)
Still, Bunnie said she’s “ready for a change.” So was Jelly Roll.
The two seek couples therapy to save their marriage. Instead a “shouting match” broke out.
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“If I could just paint this scene for you, the marriage counseling couple is a husband and wife,” Bunnie told Fox News Digital.
“We’re like, ‘Okay, we’re going to come in here, we’re going to learn a lot, we’re going to get the tools to have a real relationship.’ We were not taught on both sides of our families to love properly. And we’re like, ‘We’re going to come in here and do this.’ That’s why we got a guy and a girl, because no one will be able to take sides with the other person. It will be an equal employment period. “
“We went in there, these poor couples didn’t know what they were getting into,” he continued. “It was a bombshell. We were just yelling at each other. There was a lot of anger, a lot of pain, pain from both ends. We left that treatment center that day, and I was like, ‘This is it. We’re never going to be together again.’ And I think he felt the same way.”
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Jelly Roll listed the breakup date as May 9. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for the TJ Martell Foundation)
“We finally got back together,” said Bunnie. “We were like, ‘I want to grow up. I don’t want to be this person. I choose you. I’m going to be everything you ever wanted me to be.’
“I will be a wife, and he will be everything I wanted him to be; a husband and a father to children,” he said. “We just made that decision from then on to just be better people and break all the curses of the generation we inherited. I was ready for a change. So was he. So we went together to heal and grow together.”
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“We learned that marriage is different,” Bunnie recalled. “Each person and relationship is completely different than the next person. But you have to get up and choose that person even on the days you don’t like them.”
In 2023, the couple renewed their vows at the same Las Vegas temple where they were married. Bunnie said she and her husband make a choice every day to stay committed to each other. At the time, he described their devotion to each other as strong.
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“I’ve seen 10 different versions of my husband in 10 years, and he’s seen four different versions of me,” Bunnie said. “I’ve improved on the things I wanted to improve on myself, but I also think we love each other for who we are – the good, the bad, the ugly.”
“Let’s not judge each other,” she said. “There is no judgment in this house. I know everything about my husband, and he knows everything about me. No matter how hard it is, we face things. We call it ‘getting into the groove.’ When it’s time, we hunt and get on with life – together.”
Fox News Digital’s Christina Dugan Ramirez and Larry Fink contributed to this post.



