Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO’s love story is one of resilience, loyalty, and reinvention. While Jelly Roll built his career in country and rap, Bunnie carved her own path — first as a Vegas call girl, then as an entrepreneur, podcast host, and driving force behind their family.
Her early struggles shaped the woman she is today, from overcoming hardships to financially supporting Jelly Roll when he was just starting out. Now, she’s not only his partner but also a devoted stepmother to his two children and a powerhouse in her own right.
Highlights
- Bunnie XO, born Alyssa DeFord, overcame a tough childhood and became a successful entrepreneur and podcast host.
- Bunnie began as a call girl and transitioned to entrepreneurship, creating the Bunnie XO brand and Dumb Blonde podcast.
- Despite early financial struggles, Bunnie supported Jelly Roll's early music career and remained financially independent.
- The couple allows intimate connections outside their marriage and renewed their vows in 2023, signaling strong commitment.
Who is Bunnie XO?
Bunnie XO, whose real name is Alyssa DeFord (45), was Born on January 22, 1985. Her mother abandoned the family when she was just three months old due to struggles with addiction (she later reconnected with her mother).
Bunnie XO discussed her early life during her appearance on the Sofia with an F podcast in August 2022. She was born in Houston but moved to Las Vegas when she was five and claimed she is a “West Coast girl through and through.”
Growing up, Bunnie’s father was a musician, and she lived surrounded by “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” and that adult films were “on TV all the time.”
At the age of 12, her father and stepmother abruptly became “serious bible thumpers” and part of the “super strict” Pentecostal church. Bunnie said she couldn’t watch films rated above a G-rating or listen to secular music. She speculates that her father’s alcoholism led to his cheating, which prompted the family to turn towards faith.
Bunnie also dealt with verbal and physical abuse from her stepmother. However, Bunnie believes how she was treated prevented her from having a “victim mentality” as she got older.
After experiencing two very different lifestyles growing up, Bunnie was attracted to the “darker” and “seedier side” of life. At 14, she became a runaway, left her home, and never looked back.
At the age of 21, Bunnie began stripping for the next 11 years. She said that stripping led her to meet her customers outside of the club because that’s the “lifestyle in Vegas.”
Eventually, Bunnie fully transitioned to an independent call girl but wouldn’t “get out of bed for less than $5000.”
Even after marrying Jelly Roll in 2016, Bunnie refused to rely on him. She continued to work as a call girl, often earning more money than him at the time. He also never asked her to give up anything she was doing.
Between 2017 and 2018, Bunnie got sober. She called it “the hardest yet most rewarding journey.”
In 2018, she used her earnings to launch her own brand: Bunnie XO. She did this “without help from anyone,” not even her husband.
Bunnie launched her popular weekly podcast Dumb Blonde in 2019, which continues to this day. She interviews guests about the “realness that life throws at us.”
In 2020, Bunnie joined OnlyFans and credits the platform for getting her “out of the game” and making her a millionaire.
In 2022, her Bunnie XO brand was making “as much money — if not more than” her “SW money.” The following year, she quit OnlyFans and has never looked back.
Bunnie XO’s Health Journey
In one of her August 2024 Dumb Blonde episodes, Bunnie shared she thought she had a brain aneurysm.
After suffering from chronic headaches, Bunnie sought medical attention to get to the bottom of what was causing her pain.
Doctors suspected an aneurysm in her carotid artery, a discovery that sent a chill through her. It was one of her biggest fears, shaped by her mother’s near-fatal rupture years before. Fearing the worst, Bunnie cried for three days before returning for additional tests.
Fortunately, after seeing a neurologist and a vascular surgeon, it was determined that she didn’t have an aneurysm and was cleared.
The whole experience made Bunnie appreciate her life so much more. She said, “Family and the people that you love and the people that you surround yourself with every day is all that f***ing matters.”
How Did Bunnie XO and Jelly Roll Meet?
During an appearance on the King and the Sting podcast in November 2020, Jelly Roll told a story of how he met his wife, Bunnie XO.
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At the time, Jelly Roll was living while touring in a “’97 high-top Southern Comfort van” and was “*ss broke” when he first met his future wife. He described Bunnie as a wealthy “Vegas girl” who lived in a penthouse and had two sports cars.
The story goes that he met Bunnie backstage after she attended one of Jelly Roll’s shows with her abusive ex. They hit it off. The pair had mutual friends, so they could stay in touch, and once her relationship ended, they reconnected.
In 2015, Jelly Roll reached out to Bunnie, expressing his desire to come to Vegas to shoot some content for his music. Still living in his van at the time, Jelly drove down and ended up staying with Bunnie that first night, and for the most part, they’ve been together ever since.
The country star called it a “White trash love story” and revealed the couple got married “kind of randomly.”
In August 2016, Jelly Roll asked Bunnie to marry him while he was on stage at a Yelawolf and Deftone concert. That same night, the couple raced to the altar and got married.
Despite admitting that he may have been under the influence of some drugs the night they were married, Jelly Roll calls Bunnie his best friend and credits his wife with supporting him in launching his music career. He also said she supported him financially when his first shows earned him very little.
During Jelly Roll’s 2020 appearance on Bunnie’s Dumb Blonde podcast, the couple said getting married so quickly meant they had to “learn each other” and called the first few years a “rodeo.”
In 2022, Jelly Roll shared a post commemorating where they met in Vegas. His lengthy caption talked about how far they had come as a couple and reminiscing about that time in their lives. He wrote, “I remember vividly where we were in our lives back then. Both coming out of toxic relationships. Both struggling to find our way in life.”
Inside Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO’s Relationship
Jelly Roll has been married to Bunnie XO for nine years, and they continue to show love and support for each other.
In an interview with People, Jelly Roll said the couple never spent more than two weeks apart. He said, “I prioritize family, and that’s what anchors me down.” He credits Bunnie with helping him recognize what was most important saying, “My world shrunk when I focused on one woman.”
The couple also has a unique agreement within their relationship; they allow each other to have intimate connections outside their marriage.
On her podcast, Bunnie said they allow one another to be their true selves. She explained, “If I want to sleep with another guy, I can go sleep with another guy.” However, she countered this by saying she wouldn’t do this unless she wanted to be with the man and was “planning on building something with them” or the man was a “boss-*ss mother-f***er.”
For his part, Jelly Roll is also allowed to be with other women. However, Bunnie is typically in the room at the same time.
The couple decided to re-dedicate themselves in September 2023; they renewed their vows in the same chapel they were married in seven years earlier.
Despite a seemingly strong marriage, the couple has had their share of relationship difficulties along the way.
In 2018, the couple briefly separated, with Bunnie moving out and returning to Vegas. On her vlog, she dubbed the split a "therapeutic release.” Bunnie doesn't state the cause of their split, saying only that she and Jelly had their own versions of what happened.
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In March 2024, Bunnie reflected on the 2018 separation in a TikTok video. In part, the clip’s text said, “Our castle in the sand had to crumble so we could rebuild on solid ground.” The clip also revealed that the couple “finally committed” to each other.
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@xomgitsbunnie/video/7350841439275846955?lang=en[/embed]
Jelly Roll also addressed the split the following month. He told People that he was glad Bunnie had posted her TikTok video about their split because it emphasizes how much work the couple had put into their relationship. He said, “It ain’t always been Hallmark cards and Care Bears, and we had to really put in a lot of work to be together, and it was worth it.”
Jelly Roll continued that even through the difficult parts, their relationship’s highs and lows were “worth every second” and that they’re now “in the easy phase.”
Parenting and Family Life
When Jelly Roll married Bunnie XO in 2016, she also became stepmother to his two kids from previous relationships: Bailee Ann and Noah. While Noah has less of a social media presence, Jelly Roll’s wife and daughter have a close relationship that is well-documented online.
Jelly Roll praised Bunnie’s role as stepmom to his two children with a heartfelt Instagram post on Mother’s Day in 2023. He wrote, “It takes a special kind of woman to raise a child that isn’t hers.”
The post also revealed that when he and Bunnie were first together, he had another woman pregnant and was about to get full custody of his 7-year-old daughter, Bailee. Instead of running “for the hills,” Bunnie did everything she could to ensure he got custody of Bailee.
He said, “7 years later, Bailee calls Bunnie Momma with no hesitation,” and that “Bunnie still blows my mind every day with how loving and patient she is with Bailee.”
For Bailee’s sixteenth birthday, Bunnie posted a tribute to her family. Among other sweet sentiments, she thanked Jason for allowing her to be the mom she never had. She also said, “Thank you to the sweetest, sassiest 16 year old for teaching me the most healing life lessons ever these past 8 years and letting me be your mama.”
While the couple continues to raise Jason’s two children, they are also open about wanting to have a child of their own.
In an August 2024 interview on Bussin’ With The Boys, Jelly shared that he and Bunnie planned to have a baby. She posted the clip on her Instagram, captioning it with, “God Willing- Baby DeFord 2026.”
The video also featured text that revealed the couple was exploring the possibility of IVF treatments and other options. She said it had “already been hard” and that even with “all [the] odds stacked against” them, they were keen to add to their “perfect family.”
Bunnie XO’s Career Achievements
Bunnie’s life as a call girl and her time on OnlyFans is well-known, but according to IMDb, she has also modeled for several magazines and appeared on Playboy TV.
Since 2023, Bunnie has focused solely on her brand, especially her podcast. As of January 2025, Dumb Blonde is ranked 43rd on Spotify’s US list of comedy podcasts. Overall, it is ranked 158th (out of 200).
Jelly Roll dedicated a post to his wife’s “passion and determination” with a “BUNNIE APPRECIATION POST” on Instagram in 2023. He shared that Bunnie has inspired him from the moment they met and saved him while he was in “one of the darkest times” of his life.
In his post, he shared how they discussed “the vision she had to start the Dumb Blonde Podcast, and how it was her means to end working in the sex industry for good.”
While many speculate that Jelly Roll financed her endeavor, he put that rumor to rest, saying, “I watched her build her own platform, her own podcast, and her own team with ZERO help from me.”
He praised her need to start her brand independently and recognized her desire to be known as more than “Jelly Roll’s wife.”
The supportive husband finished the post with, “Watching you take this thing to the moon has been nothing short of incredible. Let’s keep changing the world a little at a time.”
Following the success of her podcast, Bunnie has also ventured into the realm of singing, releasing a few NSFW Christmas songs.
Bunnie XO isn’t slowing down. In fall 2025, she’ll release her memoir (per Music Mayhem), hoping her story will show anyone feeling stuck that they can break free and create a new path.