Jelly Roll has risen to the top among country music's new stars within the past couple of years with his vulnerable, honest songwriting and unique artistry. The Tennessee native found his way to country music through rap. He also found a country audience with his 2022 single "Son of a Sinner," which reached the top of the country charts.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The singer has quickly become a popular figure among country music fans, bringing his optimistic attitude everywhere he goes. He also brings along his wife, Bunnie. Many fans of Jelly Roll are also fans of his wife, Bunnie DeFord, who goes by the name Bunnie Xo. However, Bunnie's now-famous country singer husband isn't the only reason she's in the spotlight.
Who is Bunnie Xo?
Theo Wargo/WireImage
These days, Bunnie is a model, social media influencer and the host of her successful Dumb Blonde podcast. When she first met Jelly Roll, however, she was living a very different life, as a high-end escort in Las Vegas. Jelly Roll and Bunnie are very open about her past. The singer got real about the way they met on an episode of Bertcast with host Bert Kreischer.
"When I met her, I was living out of a '96 van," Jelly Roll explains. "I was doing, like, $100-a-night shows. ... I was dead broke, and she just kind of took to me."
Jelly Roll adds that Bunnie was making "real money" as an escort, and he was surprised by the monetary success she was seeing in the industry.
"This was 15, 20, I mean real money," he says. "If she ever writes a book, ... we're talking about, like, CEOs of oil companies. People you know."
The singer — who previously did jail time for selling drugs — explains that he didn't quite understand Bunnie's lifestyle, but he didn't admonish her for it either.
"I was just like, 'I don't understand this, but I don't have a problem with it,'" he says.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for CMT
Bunnie has also broached the subject of her past, saying she used to make "$30, $40,000 a night." She revealed that Jelly Roll's daughter, Bailee Ann, was the reason she decided to stop being an escort once and for all.
"There's a little girl who came into my life and she stole my heart, and I don't want her to feel like she ever has to sell her body to support herself," she once said on her Dumb Blonde podcast.
Jelly Roll has since revealed that Bunnie put her wealth to good use when she helped him hire a lawyer to gain custody of his child. She also housed the singer and his daughter before Jelly Roll could afford to do so himself.
"She just bet the farm on me," Jelly Roll says of his wife.
New Chapter as a Media Personality
Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images
These days, Bunnie has built a successful career as a media personality with her Dumb Blonde podcast, which launched in June 2020. Her guests run the gamut of social media stars, comedians and, of course, a few country music stars thrown in as well. Brantley Gilbert, Priscilla Block and Jelly Roll have all been guests on the show. In January, Bunnie garnered 1.7 million downloads of her podcast. She wrote a thank-you note to her fans soon after reaching that mark.
"THANK YOU FOR 1.7 million downloads for the podcast in January!" she wrote. "I can't express to you how excited I am to be signed w/ WME now & watching the Bunnie Xo brand grow even bigger. I love y'all so mushhh. The broken little girl inside me heals everyday because of each & everyone of you. 2023 is off to a beautiful start."
In addition to the podcast, Bunnie has a Patreon platform that offers exclusive content to subscribers, including the vlog series Meet the DeFords. She also models on her Instagram page, often posting photos in bikinis or lingerie.
