Jelly Roll's wife says remarks about weight sent him offline

Bullying over weight drove Jelly Roll offline, wife Bunnie XO says: ‘It hurts him’

A woman with long blond hair and tattoos smooches the cheek of a man with facial tattoos and wearing a shearling jacket

By Christie D’ZurillaAssistant Editor, Fast Break Desk

April 23, 2024 2:16 PM PT

“It hurts him.”

That’s what Jelly Roll’s wife, Bunnie XO, says in a promo clip for this week’s episode of “Dumb Blonde.” In text overlaid on the clip, she promised: “This week I go off on the podcast.. def going to ruffle some feathers & I didn’t stutter.”

She’s about to “go off” about bullying, apparently.

“My husband got off the internet because he was so tired of being bullied about his f— weight,” she said. “And, like, that makes me want to cry, because he is the sweetest angel baby.”

She noted that “the internet” can say whatever it wants about a person and then say, “Well, you’re a celebrity, you’re supposed to be able to handle it. Well no the f— we’re not.”

“I’m sorry, I’m gonna stand up for all the underdogs,” Bunnie said. “You’re never gonna bully me. You’re never gonna lie about me or my family. I will fight to the end.”

Jelly Roll, a self-proclaimed “extrovert by nature” who was the Country Music Assn.’s new artist of the year in 2023, is the man behind hits including “Need a Favor” and “Save Me.” The performer born Jason DeFord has been with Alyssa DeFord, a.k.a. Bunnie XO, since they met at one of his shows in 2015. The couple married in 2016.

“My husband doesn’t show it to you guys, but I’m gonna have a very vulnerable moment here,” she said in the clip. “It hurts him.”

Jelly Roll had mentioned his weight and hinted at the sting of comments about it in a 2023 interview with The Times, where he talked about the reasons Nashville insiders initially said no to him when he was trying to break into the country music scene.

“They said there’s no way that country radio would play an artist with face tattoos. They said I should go by Jason DeFord, as though the town needs another Jason. Somebody told me I was too fat to be relatable. They said it a little nicer. Not much — I mean, it’s hard to say that nice.”

That said, the 39-year-old told People earlier this month that he was working on fitness, was down about “70-something pounds” already and planned to lose an additional 100 pounds or more.

“I’m doing two to three miles a day, four to six days a week,” he said about training for an upcoming 5K. “I’m doing 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna, six minutes in a cold plunge every day. I’m eating healthy right now.”

He added, “If I feel this good down this weight, man, I can only imagine what I’m going to feel like by the time I go on tour.”

Jelly Roll’s Beautifully Broken Tour of the United States starts Wednesday in Detroit with Warren Zeiders and Alexandra Kay opening. He’s scheduled to play Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sept. 6 and the Honda Center in Anaheim on Sept. 7.

In the meantime, the new episode of “Dumb Blonde” comes out Wednesday via various podcast platforms.