Listen: Bunnie Xo speaks out amid divorce from Jelly Roll in new podcast
- Publish date
- Friday, 19 Jun 2026, 2:29PM
Bunnie Xo is speaking out about her divorce from Jelly Roll for the first time since news of the filing broke earlier this week.
The Dumb Blonde podcast host, 46, said Jelly Roll has “always been my best friend, and I love that man more than life itself,” in a clip from the new podcast episode. Bunnie Xo, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, said she would “take accountability for my actions,” while speaking about the split, and didn’t feel it was the time nor her place to speak on the singer’s behalf.
Bunnie Xo became emotional as she spoke about the couple’s life together. She declined to share details, but she said an argument on Mother’s Day led her to tell him, “file the f***ing divorce papers. …I ended up leaving. I packed a bag and I left.” The two didn’t talk for weeks after the argument, according to Bunnie. “It was not mutual, even though I told him to file the divorce papers, I was speaking out of anger and frustration,” she said; however, it was “absolutely” a necessary wake-up call to start having deeper conversations.
“My husband and I are ending this marriage on the best possible terms that you could ever have a divorce,” Bunnie said.
The bestselling Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic author also addressed the status of her IVF journey. She revealed in her memoir earlier this year that she hopes to welcome twins via surrogate. The babies would join Bailee Ann, 18, and Noah Buddy, 9, Jelly Roll’s children from previous relationships.
“J and I have lost four embryos,” she went on to share. “We’ve had three transfers, but we lost the two twins that we were going to try to have, and then we lost the other two. …It’s gut-wrenching. It is so heartbreaking.
“And you guys are going to be shocked to hear this, but we’re still having a baby,” Bunnie revealed. “We’re still having a baby together. …And J has been so f***ing great about us still having a baby together and he wants the same thing. And we're just going to raise little Nugget as one big happy family.”
During the podcast episode, Bunnie Xo clarified, “nobody cheated on the other person,” and she believe’s their “future is so much more important and being happy and healthy and best friends through this is probably the biggest gift that we could have given each other.” She also revealed Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, is dating again since the couple’s split. The podcast host and bestselling author even encouraged other women, “don’t be scared. Shoot your motherf***ing shot.” She, however, said she isn’t ready to get involved in the dating scene yet. “I’m ready to focus on myself and pour into myself.” Bunnie Xo said Jelly Roll “needs a really sweet girl who is normal and isn't like, f***ing trying to be a f***in’ influencer. …I think he wants the complete opposite of me, which is what he deserves.”
Jelly Roll, 41, filed for divorce on May 18 in Williamson County, Tennessee, outside of Nashville, TMZ was first to report on Monday. They’d been separated since May 9. Jelly Roll and Bunnie met in 2015. She previously said their friendship was “strictly platonic” at first, but they were undoubtedly “drawn” to one another. They got married in a spontaneous wedding in August 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and returned to the same venue to renew their vows in August 2023.
Bunnie Xo’s podcast is the first time she’s publicly spoken about the divorce since the news broke. Jelly Roll commented on a clip shared on Instagram, “‘You just had to be there.’. He also shared a clip from his show tonight, saying this is the only time he will talk about it, repeating the fact the pair remain best friends, and encouraging people to listen to the podcast episode.
Listen to the full episode on iHeartRadio here (warning: language).

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