US country music star Jelly Roll files for divorce

Jelly Roll, the American country music star, filed for divorce in May citing irreconcilable differences, according to Tennessee court records.

The Save Me singer rose to fame not only for his musical stylings, but also his openness about his struggles with addiction and incarceration.

Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, and his wife Alisa DeFord, better known as Bunnie Xo, married in Las Vegas in 2016 and separated in early May, according to court filings in Williamson County, Tennessee.

They renewed their vows in 2023. The couple have two children, including a daughter from a previous relationship of his.

For their 10th anniversary in 2026, Jelly Roll wrote in an Instagram caption, “2016 was a dream. And we’re still living it. 10 years with my beautiful wife, the one and only Mrs Bunnie Xo”, and posted several photos of the pair.

When the couple met, Jelly Roll was a struggling musician and Bunnie Xo was a sex worker. Since then, their careers have both evolved.

Jelly Roll, 41, began his musical career as a rapper, but found stardom as a country singer with his 2023 breakout album, Whitsitt Chapel. That same year, he was named best new artiste at the Country Music Association Awards. In 2026, he won a Grammy Award for best contemporary country album for Beautifully Broken.

In 2023, Bunnie Xo closed her Only Fans account, and in 2024, she commemorated the anniversary of leaving sex work in a social media post.

“I was SO scared to let go of that part of my life & leave behind the money I was making – wasn’t sure how I’d make up that part of my business. But I had faith & let God have it & he made sure I made it back 10 fold,” Bunnie Xo, who is 46 and hosts the Dumb Blonde podcast, wrote on Facebook.

In her 2026 memoir Stripped Down: Unfiltered And Unapologetic, Bunnie Xo wrote that the couple had briefly separated in 2018 after she learnt her husband had a months-long affair.

The Associated Press previously reported Jelly Roll was sentenced to a year in prison after entering a house and demanding money in 2002. He was unarmed, but accompanied by two men with guns. He was also sentenced to eight years of court-ordered supervision after the authorities found marijuana and cocaine in his car.

In December, he was pardoned by the governor of Tennessee for his previous robbery and drug convictions, a clemency decision that could make it easier for him to travel and perform internationally.

He has described learning about the birth of his daughter in 2008 as a key turning point in his life.

“Everybody’s rock bottom is different. For me, it was realising that I was the most qualified person to raise my daughter, and I wasn’t qualified. That scared me,” he told The New York Times in 2024.

He frequently visits and performs at correctional facilities. In 2024, Jelly Roll testified before Congress about the fentanyl crisis in the US. NYTIMES