Bunnie Xo opens up about the devastating toll her divorce from Jelly Roll took

Bunnie Xo has opened up about the toll her divorce from Jelly Roll took on her, revealing that she lost 20 pounds and at times needed IVs after struggling to eat.

The author and Dumb Blonde podcaster spoke about the breakup during a recent appearance on TODAY.

She said there were times when members of her team had to physically help her after she became so unwell.

“There [were] moments when my team had to pick me up off the floor and give me IVs,” Bunnie said. “Because I wasn’t eating. I was eating baby food to get by. I lost 20 pounds. Heartbreak, man, it’s the best freaking diet.”

The comments offer a glimpse at the severity of the split for Bunnie, whose real name is Alisa DeFord. Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, filed for divorce in May after the couple had been together for nearly a decade. Their divorce was finalised two months later.

Bunnie Xo said she was eating baby food to get by after struggling to eat. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

How did Bunnie Xo’s divorce from Jelly Roll affect her?

While Bunnie acknowledged that the experience was deeply painful, she said she does not want her decision to keep her most emotional moments away from social media to be mistaken for a lack of hurt.

“I did one time in 2018 and it’s on my YouTube and I vowed to myself that I would never do that again,” she said, referring to previously sharing her tears publicly.

“Because one, that’s super vulnerable, but two, I don’t feel like that is productive in any way.”

Instead, she said she has spoken about what happened on her podcast and allowed viewers to see more of what she was going through.

Bunnie also stressed that divorce can have consequences beyond the two people ending their marriage. “I don’t want people to think like I’m just out here acting like nothing doesn’t hurt… Yeah, it hurt,” she said.

“Families get broken up, hearts get broken.”

The couple married in 2016, shortly after they began dating, and their relationship lasted almost 10 years before the divorce.

Bunnie said she now believes it is time to move forward, despite the pain involved.

Jelly Roll said during a June concert that he and Bunnie Xo would always be best friends. (Photo by Catherine Powell/Getty Images for CMT)

What has Bunnie Xo said about moving on after the divorce?

For Bunnie, moving forward does not mean pretending the breakup did not affect her. Instead, she wants the next stage of her life to demonstrate what recovery can look like.

“When life hands you lemons, make freaking lemonade slushies. Like, let’s do this,” she said.

She added: “I want to show people strength. I want to show people resilience. I want to show people rebuilding and knowing that, like, yeah, my heart was shattered, but guess what? It’s healing, and it’s coming back even stronger.”

Jelly Roll has previously addressed the split himself.

During a June concert, he said the pair remained close despite the end of their marriage.

“Me and my wife are best friends. We will always be best friends,” he said. “We just got off the phone earlier today. Nobody cheated on nobody. She just did a whole podcast about it. You can go watch it. Every word of it is the truth. That will be my best friend forever.”

He went on to thank Bunnie for their 10 years together, saying: “Bunnie, I love you, baby. Thank you for those 10 years. They were incredible. Thank you for the next 10 years of friendship and 20 beyond that.”