Bunnie Xo reveals Jelly Roll infidelity in ‘Stripped Down’ memoir | USAEMALL.com

Bunnie Xo’s relationship with Jelly Roll wasn’t always sweet — at times, it turned downright bitter.

In her new memoir, “Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic,” the “Dumb Blonde” podcast host lays bare her chaotic upbringing and the emotional highs and lows that defined the early years of her relationship with the singer-songwriter.

Long before they became one of country music’s most devoted couples, the pair weathered difficult truths — including the night Bunnie learned Jelly Roll’s ex-fling was waiting for him “in a hotel room down the street.”

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Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo attend the 68th Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena on Feb. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

“When I found out about it, I was devastated,” the 46-year-old, whose real name is Alyssa DeFord, told Fox News Digital. “I was hurt because I didn’t think he would be the one person to do that. I thought he was different. And at that moment, my heart was broken. But instead of getting mad at him, I asked myself, ‘Why do I keep attracting these kinds of men?’”

Bunnie Xo and her husband Jelly Roll attend the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards on May 8, 2025, in Frisco, Texas. (Michael Buckner/Penske Media via Getty Images)

Bunnie admitted she hadn’t envisioned a conventional marriage. The couple tied the knot in 2016 during a whirlwind Las Vegas ceremony. She became a stepmom to the country singer’s daughter, Bailee, and son, Noah.

“I think a lot of people need to realize that coming into this marriage, we weren’t a traditional bride and groom,” she explained.

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“I was a working girl, and he was an ex-drug dealer — a gangster-turned-struggling artist. There’s a different set of rules on the street than there are in what I’d call traditional marriages. If you’ve never lived that lifestyle, you’re not going to understand. But of course, cheating is wrong across the board — it doesn’t matter.”

In her book, Bunnie wrote that she and the Grammy-winning artist, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, agreed to a three-month separation. But to her surprise, Jelly Roll announced their breakup on Instagram.

Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo are seen at the Pre-Grammy Gala on Jan. 31, 2026, in Los Angeles. (Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images)

“Are you f—ing kidding me?” she wrote. “We had an agreement…. Folks started DM’ing me on social media, telling me that J was with his ex-fling. The pieces started to fit together, and it became easier to disconnect from him…. I went completely silent and didn’t reach out to J or answer any calls.”

“Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic” by Bunnie Xo is out now. (Dey Street Books)

Shortly after, Bunnie wrote, Jelly Roll released his 2018 album, “Waylon & Willie II.”

“Have you ever listened to those songs?” she wrote. “Go give it a listen, and you’ll clearly hear a man smack-dab in the middle of an affair, pouring his guilt into lyrics…. To this day, I still hate most of the songs on that album, and I can’t listen to it all the way through.”

Bunnie Xo is the host of the “Dumb Blonde” podcast. (Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)

Looking back, Bunnie told Fox News Digital there were many reasons her initial “fairy tale” had become a nightmare.

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Bailee Ann, her father Jelly Roll and stepmom Bunnie Xo attend the “Jelly Roll: Save Me” documentary world premiere at the Ryman Auditorium on May 30, 2023, in Nashville. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

“It’s not so much what was going on in our marriage,” she said. “It was more of my husband had a hard time letting go of the past. I had a hard time letting go of the past. We also didn’t really think the relationship was going to work.

“I think a lot of it boiled down to self-worth on both parts. My husband didn’t think he’d ever meet a woman who really loved him for him and just wanted to see him succeed without some of them wanting to change him…. And I had brought so much baggage into the relationship.”

In “Stripped Down,” Bunnie XO was candid about the ups and downs she endured during her whirlwind romance with Jelly Roll. (John Shearer/Getty Images for CMA)

“I had come out of a really abusive relationship,” she reflected. “The first man I ever saw cheat was my father. So I just didn’t really believe in traditional marriage at the same time either. There were just so many factors of why things happened the way they did.”

Bunnie Xo at the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards on May 16, 2024, in Frisco, Texas. (Gilbert Flores/Penske Media via Getty Images)

Still, Bunnie said she was “ready for a change.” So was Jelly Roll, 41. 

The two sought couples therapy to save their marriage. A “screaming match” broke out instead.

“If I could just paint the scene for you, it’s a husband-and-wife marriage counseling couple,” Bunnie told Fox News Digital. 

Bunnie Xo told Fox News Digital she has found peace from her troubled past. (Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for CMT)

“We’re like, ‘OK, we’re going to come in here, we’re going to learn so much, we’re going to get the tools to have a real relationship.’ We were never taught on either side of our families how to love properly. And we’re like, ‘We’re going to go in here and do this.’ That’s why we got a guy and a girl, because nobody’s going to be able to side with the other person. It’s going to be an equal opportunity employment moment.”

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Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo attend the 51st CMA Fest at Nissan Stadium on June 8, 2024, in Nashville. (John Shearer/Getty Images for CMA)

“We went in there, and this poor couple had no idea what they had stepped into,” she continued. “It was stepping on a grenade. We were just screaming at each other. There was just so much anger, so much hurt, so much pain from both ends. We left that therapy session that day, and I was like, ‘This is it. We’re never going to be together again.’ And I think he felt the same way too.”

But they weren’t ready to walk away for good. What began as heartbreak ultimately turned into a promise of commitment, she revealed.

Bunnie Xo poses for the 2024 CMT Music Awards portraits at the Moody Center on April 7, 2024, in Austin. (John Shearer/Getty Images for CMT)

“We ended up coming back together,” said Bunnie. “We were like, ‘I want to grow. I don’t want to be this person. I choose you. I’m going to become everything that you’ve ever wanted me to be.’”

Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo at the “Jelly Roll & Friends” concert held at Billy Bob’s Texas on May 6, 2025, in Fort Worth. (Gilbert Flores/Penske Media via Getty Images)

“I’m going to be a wife, and he’s going to become everything I ever wanted him to be; a husband and a father to the kids,” she shared. “We just made that decision from then on to just be better humans and to break every generational curse that we had ever inherited. I was ready for a change. So was he. So we set out together to heal and grow together.”

“We learned that marriage is not one-size-fits-all,” Bunnie reflected. “Each person and each relationship is completely different than the next person’s. But you do have to wake up and choose that person even on days that you don’t like them.”

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In 2023, the couple renewed their vows at the same Las Vegas chapel where they were married. Bunnie said she and her husband make the choice every day to stay dedicated to each other. That devotion to each other remains strong.

Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo married in 2016. They renewed their wedding vows in 2023. (John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

“I’ve seen 10 different versions of my husband in 10 years, and he’s seen probably four different versions of me,” said Bunnie. “I’ve improved on things that I have wanted to improve personally, but I also think we just love each other for who we are — the good, the bad, the ugly.”

“We don’t judge each other,” she said. “There’s no judgment in this house. I know everything about my husband, and he knows everything about me. No matter how hard it gets, we face things head-on. We call it ‘getting into the foxhole.’ When it’s time, we hunker down and get through life — together.”