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Bunnie XO says she funded Jelly Roll's early career by 'turning tricks' while reflecting on divorce

June 23rd, 2026

Bunnie XO unearthed a few of the cracks in her relationship with Jelly Roll that ultimately led to their split.

The "Son of a Sinner" singer petitioned Tennessee courts for a divorce on May 18, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. He listed the date of separation as May 9 and cited irreconcilable differences.

Bunnie XO and Jelly Roll (born Jason DeFord) both fiercely defended their private relationship after news of their split broke the Internet with accusations of cheating.

In a revealing episode of her "Dumb Blonde Podcast," the model remembered noticing a few red flags when it came to reconciling with their past.

"We stopped communicating together in the past year and a half," she said. "And I think that it's safe for me to say that I always loved my husband a little bit more than he loved me.

"I was like always protecting him and always making sure he was okay and like always chasing him and I literally was the glue that held us together."

Bunnie noted that she was the "chaser" while he was more of the "runner" in their twin flame relationship.

"So in this past year and a half, because I felt like he wasn't pouring into me, and I wasn't pouring into him, and we just weren't communicating," she said. "We just weren't on the same page. I stopped chasing him."

Bunnie also reflected on the changes they both experienced as he rose to prominence on the country scene with massive success in 2022, nearly two decades after he began making music.

"When Jay and I first got together, we were two kids who literally had nothing," Bunnie said of her ex. "Everybody always likes to say that I had all the money when we first got together, and I did this for him and I did that for him. And I mean, I had sugar daddies at the time that were paying for all of this.

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"Like, we have — and I'm not trying to take the, the light off of what I did for him, but like, we were still in the streets. We were making money as it came."

She added, "It wasn't like I was over here just sitting on f---ing a million dollars and was taking care of him. Like, I was turning tricks to pay our bills and to get lawyers and to travel and to, you know, go on tour and stuff like that."

Bunnie admitted that her past life as a high-end escort funded their lifestyle when they first dated.

"Like, I literally went on tour with him and was seeing clients just to fund our life at the time," she said. "As this thing started growing, it just, I mean, I remember there were shows that my husband would play to f---ing 20 people. And it was crazy because within the first three years of us being together, the crowd started doubling."

Bunnie said it was "us against the world" for years, and while they were riding high on the wave of success, their struggle with in vitro fertilization took a toll on their relationship.

"My hat goes off to any woman, family, couple who is going through IVF because let me tell you something, dude, that is one of the loneliest, darkest journeys you will be on," she said. "Everybody gets to see the reward at the end, but it is not all bells and whistles. It is not a beautiful journey.

"It completely wrecked me. It wrecked me emotionally, spiritually, physically. It was so hard on me that for the past year and a half, I became a shell of the person I was because I'm doing these IVF journeys."

During the process, Bunnie admitted that they lost a number of embryos and she also suffered multiple miscarriages.

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"You get so mad at God because you're like, why is it so easy for, you know, people who don't deserve children to just be able to pop them out, but two people who really want a baby together ... but two people who really want a child together, and this baby is so loved, and he doesn't even know it yet," she said.

"It's like every time we are met with a f---ing roadblock, and that takes a toll on a relationship. So you have to think ... Jay and I have been through so much, and in a way, I kind of think Jay and I are trauma bonded."

A source told People that Jelly Roll and Bunnie have "always had a complicated dynamic" throughout their relationship.

"When they first got together, they were both in a very different place in their lives," the source said. "There was a lot of chaos, ups and downs, and they built a life together through all of that."

The source also noted that Jelly — who has been on a weight loss journey — has "changed a lot."

"He's very focused on his future, his health and being around for a long time," the source said, adding that "there wasn't a moment where everything fell apart."

Jelly Roll began his weight-loss journey in December 2022. He told Fox News Digital at the 2023 CMA Awards he was "starting to find a will to live" again, and explained he doesn't have a specific goal, but is focused on continuing "to keep doing the right thing and feeling better."

One year later, he made his first red carpet appearance since losing 100 pounds at the 2024 CMA Awards.

Bunnie, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, and Jelly Roll tied the knot in August 2016 during a whirlwind Las Vegas ceremony, after meeting the year prior. She became a stepmom to the country singer’s daughter, Bailee, and son, Noah.

Curated By

Maya Gupta
Investigative Journalist | Grassroots Movement Organizer | Economy Consultant/Speaker
Maya Gupta writes from the fault lines of a world that refuses to stay quiet. Focused on the collisions between culture, power, and accountability, her work cuts past polished narratives to expose what’s really moving beneath the surface. From the rise of creator-driven influence to athlete activism and grassroots resistance, she tracks the momentum shaping a generation unwilling to wait its turn. Her reporting doesn’t cater to comfort, it confronts it, challenging institutions that lean on legacy instead of legitimacy. With a voice rooted in urgency and a lens tuned to those often ignored, Maya delivers coverage that reflects the stakes as they are, not as they’re packaged. This is journalism that doesn’t just observe change, it stands in the middle of it, documenting the push, the backlash, and the undeniable shift underway.
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