The former couple met in 2015 and got married the following year in a private Las Vegas ceremony.

7 things Bunnie Xo said about Jelly Roll in memoir published months before divorce news

The former couple met in 2015 and got married the following year in a private Las Vegas ceremony.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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June 16, 2026 4:28 p.m. ET

Bunnie Xo and Jelly Roll in February 2026. Credit:

Taylor Hill/Getty

- Months before Jelly Roll filed for divorce from Bunnie Xo, the podcaster released a memoir detailing their relationship.

- In *Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic*, Bunnie Xo writes about the night they met, her doubts after getting married, and other anecdotes.

- The former couple met in 2015 and tied the knot in 2016 in a small Las Vegas ceremony.

Bunnie Xo was laying everything bare months before Jelly Roll filed for divorce from her.

The podcaster's memoir, *Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic*, which details her relationship and marriage with the country singer, was published in February. The former couple had met backstage at a concert in 2015, and tied the knot the following year in Las Vegas.

Fast forward to May and Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, filed for divorce from her citing irreconcilable differences, according to court docs obtained and reviewed by **. Their separation date was listed as May 9, over a month before news broke of their pending divorce on June 15, and months before their 10-year wedding anniversary.

Here's what Bunnie Xo says about the Grammy winner in her memoir.

Bunnie Xo and Jelly Roll in Nashville in February 2026.

John Shearer/Getty

Bunnie Xo was “mesmerized” when she met Jelly Roll

Bunnie Xo met Jelly Roll backstage at a Las Vegas concert in 2015. Though she didn't think the country star was her type, she was interested in him when he offered her a drink.

“I was—dare I say—mesmerized?” she writes. “This man was not my type. But shaking his hand felt like every star in the sky collided. My soul recognized his. It was as if I’d been looking for him my entire life.”

Bunnie Xo adds, "I was never a sucker for a Southern drawl until that night. I do remember thinking to myself, 'This boy is going to be a star one day.'"

Jelly Roll was seen without wedding ring in lead-up to Bunnie Xo divorce news

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Jelly Roll turned Bunnie Xo down for sex

"Our chemistry was insane," she writes of their first date out at a honky-tonk bar. "We couldn’t keep our hands off each other." When the podcaster attempted to get intimate with Jelly Roll for the first time, however, he turned her down and stayed up all night talking about their futures, together and as individuals.

“I stripped naked and called J into my room,” she writes. “He walked in, hammered, took one look at me, and just about hit the floor. He was so shy! I sauntered over and sat him down and then got onto his lap. I kissed him and started to take off his clothes. And that man absolutely would not bang me.”

Bunnie Xo continues, “By 7 a.m., we’d landed on the same page and sobered up. ‘Pinky promise we’re going to make these dreams come true?’ he asked, holding out his little finger. I hooked mine around his. ‘Pinky promise,’ I said."

Bunnie Xo went on a ‘Whore Tour’ while with Jelly Roll

Bunnie Xo writes that she asked Jelly Roll if he minded her seeing clients while she joined him on tour together. “‘Not at all,’ he said, totally calm. ‘Whatever you gotta do, baby,'" she recalls him telling her. She then declared: "I can book clients in every city you’re in. It’ll be my own little Whore Tour.'"

The podcaster detailed her rates, which started at $1,000 just for a dinner out, and how Jelly Roll took interest in her hustle. "From day one, he never once made me feel bad for what I had to do to survive," she writes. "He’d listen wide-eyed as I’d tell him stories, crazy things I’ve seen, big piles of money I’d made, wild tales of my high-profile clients.”

Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in February 2026.

Amy Sussman/Getty

Bunnie Xo clarifies open marriage rumors

Bunnie Xo got candid about rumors surrounding her and Jelly Roll's relationship, addressing whether or not they were monogamous.

“When J and I first got together, I was a hooker who saw nothing but men cheating on their wives. Pastors, lawyers, celebrities — anyone with a penis was unfaithful. J was used to having multiple relationships at the same time with different women. So when we first got together, we both frowned upon monogamy,” she writes.

"That’s not to say that we agreed to go f--k whoever we wanted whenever we wanted — to me that’s what an open relationship is, and we aren’t in one," she adds.

Bunnie Xo explained that she and Jelly Roll don't consider each other to be "possessions" and their relationship is "free, not open." "Which means: I’ll give you the world sexually, but don’t f---ing lie to me or ever let me be the last to know something," she writes.

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Bunnie Xo’s relationship with Noah’s mom

The musician has daughter Bailee and son Noah from previous relationships. His son Noah was born a week before Bunnie Xo and the country star tied the knot. Though she acknowledged there can be "confusion" about the relationship," Bunnie Xo seemed understanding of the situation.

"They were together before him and me — off and on for about 10 years to be exact. Their relationship was super toxic, but they decided to coparent their son as best they could. She was already eight or nine months pregnant when J and I decided to be together," she writes.

Bunnie Xo added that the relationship with her was "rough" at first, but now "I absolutely adore her and the woman and mother she is ... And I’m so thankful to have someone in our equation who knows J just as well as I do.”

Bunnie Xo had doubts after getting married

Jelly Roll proposed to Bunnie Xo not long after they met, which made her feel "scared as f--k." "But of course, I live for spontaneity," she adds. "And it was exciting as hell, and I loved the passion. Would it end in disaster? Absolutely — but at least we could say it was a fun moment."

The morning after their Las Vegas wedding, she had doubts, asking if they had made a mistake getting married. But Bunnie Xo shared that Jelly Roll said he wouldn't have tied the knot with her if he wasn't serious.

"For my whole life, nothing had been particularly serious —­ even marriages could be undone without too much trouble. No one was thinking about forever with me," she writes. "But J saw me differently. He saw the long game."

Jelly Roll at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in February 2026.

Monica Schipper/Getty

Jelly Roll’s 10-month affair

Bunnie Xo and Jelly Roll's relationship wasn't always smooth sailing. During their marriage, Bunnie Xo claims he had an affair after she briefly abandoned him, heading back to Las Vegas from Nashville. Once they reunited in Las Vegas in the apartment Bunnie Xo rented for him and his daughter, however, she says he decided to "pull the plug," and headed back to Nashville.

"When I asked him why, he gave me every excuse except for the real one: He was talking to his ex behind my back," Bunnie Xo writes. "Not a baby mama, but this young girl he was seeing briefly before he and I hooked up. I’d felt it but couldn’t prove it. But I’d also felt his pain. The wounds that were deep inside him, left to fester, unhealed, and I could see how neither of us had really learned how to love."

According to Bunnie Xo, the affair went on for 10 months, and she found out about it when she saw messages from her pop up on his phone. "She told me about how he got a house for them to live in and he wanted her to stay at home and take care of Bailee," Bunnie Xo writes. "And out of everything, that’s what made me sick. It wasn’t about him f--king this broad—­it was about emotionally cheating and then wanting her to play mommy to a little girl I’d fallen in love with."

Bunnie Xo says she eventually forgave Jelly Roll, but "it would take years to actually feel like this man loved me—­ that I wasn’t disposable."

Bunnie Xo wanted to have twins with Jelly Roll

Bunnie Xo writes about wanting her own kids with Jelly Roll, mentioning that she will be starting her IVF journey "soon," and praising his parenting skills. "We have decided to use my own eggs with J’s sperm — and we are trying for twins," she shares.

"I’m so nervous, because I’ve waited this long to have kids with someone I knew would be a great father — and to be able to make sure they have the best life," she adds. "With how much IVF has advanced over the years, and with the help of the most unselfish woman willing to carry twins for us, we’ll be able to make our baby dreams come true.”

Bunnie Xo in Las Vegas in February 2026.

Taylor Hill/Getty

*Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic *is available for purchase wherever books are sold.

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