Country star Jelly Roll has filed for divorce from wife Bunnie Xo after almost a decade of marriage.
The musician, real name Jason Bradly DeFord, reportedly filed in Williamson County, Tennessee, on 18 May, according to court records viewed by US media.
Fans will likely be stunned by the news, as the couple are known for celebrating their relationship in public – they were seen sharing kisses and posing together at the Grammy Awards in February this year.
Jelly, 41, also made an emotional speech thanking his wife, real name Alisa DeFord, while accepting the Grammy for Best Contemporary Country Album.
“I want to thank my beautiful wife,” he said. “I would never have 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.”
The Independent has contacted Jelly’s representative for comment.
Jelly met Bunnie, 46, more than 10 years ago when he was performing at the Country Saloon in Las Vegas in 2015.
After dating for a year, Jelly proposed to Bunnie while on stage in Las Vegas; they tied the knot in secret later that evening, at an intimate courthouse ceremony. They renewed their vows in 2023.
The “Need a Favor” singer has been open about the ups and downs in their relationship. In October, he admitted that he’d had an affair early into their marriage, describing it as “one of the worst moments of my adulthood”.
He told the Human School podcast last October that he put in “a lot of work” to make amends and that he and Bunnie were “stronger than we could have ever been”.
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Meanwhile, Bunnie addressed the tumultuous period in their marriage in her 2026 memoir, Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic, in which she said Jelly 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 earlier this year.
“But I just loved that man so much that I just really, truly believe that he deserved a second chance.”
In September last year, she hit out at followers commenting on Jelly’s 200-pound weight loss, in which people would tell her how much “better” he apparently looked.
“My comments be like, ‘Girl, your man is so hot now that he lost all that weight,’” she shared on TikTok.
“Is he?” she questioned. “Cause he’s always had the same face. He’s always had the same heart. He’s always had the same soul.”
“I think the most appropriate thing here to say is that he looks so much more healthier now that he has lost weight,” the Dumb Blonde podcast host added. “We’ve gotta stop living in a Shallow Hal world, guys, cause you know what? You might miss out on the best love of your life by judging somebody by their weight.”
Jelly has two children from previous relationships: daughter Bailee, 18, and son Noah, nine.
He released his latest album, Beautifully Broken, in 2024.
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