For fans, the news that Jelly Roll had filed for divorce from Bunnie XO came as a complete shock.
After nearly a decade together, the couple had weathered addiction struggles, custody battles, financial hardships, and fame itself.
However, according to a new report, one final issue mattered deeply to Bunnie before she could accept the end of the marriage. It wasn’t about money, property, or even their future plans. It was about the daughter she helped raise as her own.
As details of the divorce emerged, sources revealed that Bunnie’s connection to Jelly Roll’s daughter, Bailee Ann DeFord, played a major role in how she approached the split.
According to an insider, Bunnie felt deeply connected to the teenager after years of helping raise her.
The source said she felt “spiritually tied” to Bailee and wanted to make sure her stepdaughter’s life remained stable before moving forward with such a major life change.
“[Bunnie] is spiritually tied to his daughter,” the source explained to the Daily Mail, adding, “She waited to graduate [Bailee] from high school and get her off to college.”
That protective instinct comes after years of acting as a mother figure to Bailee while also helping care for Jelly Roll’s younger son, Noah.
Jelly Roll Fought To Save His Daughter As Her Mother’s Addiction Worsened
Long before fame arrived, Jelly Roll’s life changed when he learned he had become a father while serving time in a Tennessee jail in 2008 after a drug-dealing conviction.
His daughter Bailee was born following a relationship with Felicia Beckwith, but the singer has admitted he wasn’t always present during her early years.
In his documentary “Jelly Roll: Save Me,” he described himself as a “less than present father” and recalled how difficult it initially was to secure visitation rights.
As Bailee grew older, however, her mother’s struggles with addiction intensified. Jelly Roll explained that Beckwith’s battle with fibromyalgia led to prescription pill dependency before eventually escalating into heroin addiction.
By the time Bailee was seven years old, he said her mother had “started really going downhill.” Determined to create a more stable environment, he turned to Bunnie for help.
At the time, Bunnie was earning substantial money as an escort in Las Vegas, and she helped finance the effort to gain custody.
She assisted the Grammy Award winner in securing legal representation and even helped him rent a condo suitable for raising his daughter. Their efforts paid off when he was awarded primary custody of Bailee in 2016.
Jelly Roll And Bunnie Helped Bailee Through A Family Crisis
Although there were signs of tension between Jelly Roll and Beckwith over the years, things briefly improved in 2020 when Bailee’s mother reached out after becoming sober.
Just before Bailee’s 12th birthday, Beckwith contacted her daughter while living in recovery housing after serving jail time. With Jelly Roll’s support, the pair reconnected.
The singer later shared a photo featuring himself, Bunnie, Bailee, and Beckwith together. At the time, he celebrated Beckwith’s sobriety and praised his wife.
“Bunnie is a special person who has a beautiful soul. I am a blessed man,” he wrote. Unfortunately, the progress did not last. Speaking before lawmakers in Washington, D.C., in 2024, Jelly Roll suggested that Beckwith had relapsed.
“Every single day I have to wonder, me and my wife, if today will be the day I have to tell my daughter that her mother became a part of the national statistic,” he said.
Bailee later detailed some of the most painful chapters of that period during an appearance on Bunnie’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast. She revealed that during a summer visit in 2022, her mother introduced her to alcohol and marijuana and encouraged her participation.
Bailee also alleged that her mother “manipulated me and convinced me to do” another drug after a Fourth of July celebration. For months afterward, she said she was “never sober,” regularly drinking, vaping, and abusing prescription medications without her father’s knowledge.
It was only after returning to Nashville that Jelly Roll and Bunnie realized something was wrong and helped her begin the process of getting sober.
Jelly Roll’s Daughter Found Stability In Bunnie XO
While her relationship with her biological mother became increasingly difficult, Bailee’s bond with Bunnie only grew stronger.
Over the years, social media has offered glimpses into their relationship through dance videos, family moments, and heartfelt tributes.
Bailee has frequently referred to Bunnie as her “best friend” and once credited her father and stepmother’s custody victory with changing her life for the better.
In one emotional birthday message, she wrote, “Mom, I love you more than anything in this life and ever will.” She continued, “Thank you for being everything I ever needed. Thank you for everything. Happy birthday mama, Iove you so much.”
Bailee also formed a close relationship with Cheyenne Murphy, Beckwith’s former longtime girlfriend. Murphy remained a supportive figure throughout Bailee’s upbringing and has frequently shared milestones with the teenager, including concert outings and prom celebrations.
After news of the divorce broke, Murphy declined to comment publicly.
Jelly Roll’s Family Future Was Already Expanding Before The Split
While Bailee’s story has often been public, Jelly Roll’s younger son Noah has largely been kept out of the spotlight.
Born in August 2016, the same month Jelly Roll married Bunnie, Noah is shared with Melisa Cowell. Court documents showed the pair shared custody arrangements, with Cowell maintaining primary responsibility for their son.
Unlike Bailee’s mother, Cowell has remained actively involved in Noah’s life, and Jelly Roll has said he tries “not to get in the way of what [Cowell] is building over there” because he wants to respect those boundaries.
Bunnie has also spoken warmly about Cowell, calling her “one stand up chick” and saying, “It takes a village to raise these babies & luckily we have her as a part of the family.”
Yet even while helping raise Jelly Roll’s children, Bunnie had long hoped to become a biological mother herself. The couple spent years pursuing IVF after learning that her fallopian tubes were blocked.
As recently as February, Bunnie revealed they had found a surrogate and were moving forward with plans to welcome twins. Now, with Jelly Roll’s divorce filing bringing their marriage to an end, those plans appear uncertain.