Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo are marking nearly a decade of marriage with what the country star calls a stronger bond than ever before—despite weathering some of the most challenging moments of their relationship.
The couple, who tied the knot in 2016 and celebrated their ninth anniversary this past September, has been candid about their journey together. Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, reflected on their growth during an interview on the Human School podcast, explaining that both he and Bunnie have had to rebuild after a rough patch years ago.
“I put in a lot of work to repair our relationship,” he said, noting that today the pair is “stronger than we could have ever been.” He admitted that while he wishes their story had unfolded without missteps, he is proud of where they’ve landed. “I wish our story would’ve went in the way that it never had an affair … but man, I’m proud of who we are today. I truly am.”
The “Need a Favor” singer, 40, described cheating on Bunnie as “one of the worst moments” of his adult life. “It was the first time that I was like, ‘I really can’t get this right at all. I know I’m in love with this woman.’ It just really, really, really blew me back,” he said.
According to Jelly Roll, his choices at the time were influenced by the company he kept. “I was hanging around a bunch of people that were cheating on their wives. When I was doing cocaine, I was hanging around a bunch of people that were doing cocaine,” he explained. He added that he no longer prides himself on long-standing friendships unless those people are genuinely supportive. “Now I want to only be around people I want to be like.”
Bunnie, 45, who goes by her given name Alyssa DeFord offstage, previously referenced the couple’s rocky period in a TikTok post, revealing they had briefly split in 2018 before reuniting. “Our castle in the sand had to crumble so we could rebuild on solid ground,” she wrote.
Since then, the pair has recommitted to each other. They even renewed their vows in 2023 at the same Las Vegas chapel where they originally married. Looking back, Jelly Roll now credits his wife as the anchor in his life: “My world shrunk when I focused on one woman.”