Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo have reportedly filed for divorce after nearly a decade of marriage, a relationship that weathered a cheating scandal in 2018 and a recent IVF journey.
The country music star, whose real name is Jason DeFord, filed for divorce in Tennessee on May 18, according to court records cited by TMZ. The news comes as a shock to fans who have watched the couple publicly express their love for each other over the years.
Grammy Awards Speech
Just weeks before the filing, the 41-year-old singer gave an emotional speech at the 2026 Grammy Awards while accepting the award for Best Contemporary Country Album. He thanked his wife for her support, saying, “I want to thank my beautiful wife. I would have never changed my life without you. I would have ended up dead or in jail. I would have killed myself if it wasn’t for you and Jesus. I thank you for that.”
Xo, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, had been by her husband’s side throughout his dramatic weight loss journey, which saw him shed approximately 136 kilograms.
Relationship Timeline
The couple’s relationship began more than a decade ago when they met at one of Jelly Roll’s concerts in 2015. A year later, he proposed to Xo on stage in Las Vegas, and the pair secretly got married at a courthouse that same night. In 2023, they renewed their wedding vows.
However, their marriage faced challenges, including Jelly Roll’s admission of an affair early in their relationship. He described his behavior as “one of the worst moments of my adulthood.” In her 2026 memoir, Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic, Xo revealed that Jelly Roll had cheated on her for 10 months in 2018.
“A lot of people are like, ‘Why didn’t you leave?’ And I’m like, ‘I did leave’. I did leave him, and we were split for about 30 days,” she told People in January. “But I just loved that man so much that I just really, truly believe that he deserved a second chance.”
IVF Journey
Xo helped raise Jelly Roll’s two children from previous relationships—daughter Bailee Ann DeFord and son Noah Buddy DeFord. In February, she opened up about the couple’s efforts to have their first child together through IVF, calling the infertility journey “one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to go through.”
Jelly Roll had revealed their decision to pursue IVF during a June 2024 appearance on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast. “My wife and I are talking about having a baby,” he said at the time. “It really made me realise at almost 40, I was like, that means I got to live to at least 60 — I got to see this kid into college.”
The divorce filing marks the end of a relationship that has been both publicly celebrated and privately tested.
