Jelly Roll announces career break for 'a year or two' to focus on 'healing'
Country icon Jelly Roll has announced his intention to temporarily step away from the public eye just weeks after finalizing his divorce from his ex-wife, Bunnie Xo.
The former celebrity couple, who were previously married for almost a decade, announced their intention to split earlier this year, citing irreconcilable differences in the May 18 filing.
Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, and Bunnie Xo (Alisa DeFord) officially parted ways on July 17.
11 days later, on July 28, the 41-year-old appeared at the Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he performed the last date on his Big Ass Stadium Tour ahead of a show at Weidner Field in Colorado Springs.
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"This has truly been a lifetime experience for me,” he proclaimed, as per Hello! Magazine.
“I go to Colorado Springs and do my last show for a year or two.
“I'm fixing to take some time off and heal. I love you all so much. Thank you for the opportunity.”
Jelly Roll expected to break WWE SummerSlam streak
The career break announcement comes as WWE SummerSlam hits Minnesota. It’s the first since 2023 that the musicindustry icon will apparently not be featured in any capacity.
While Saturday’s event has concluded, there is still time for him to appear on Sunday (2 August).
Discussing his debut SummerSlam match, which saw him teaming up with Randy Orton to take on Logan Paul and the Scottish warrior Drew McIntyre in 2025, the ‘Son of a Sinner’ star said that he’d asked Chief Content Officer Triple H if he could lose.
“I told Triple H, ‘I want to lose at SummerSlam.’ No celebrity has ever taken an L,” he said on What Do You Wanna Talk About? With Cody Rhodes.
“You always put him over. If you don’t put me over, I always have a reason. There is always something lingering. I can pop up anytime.”
Jelly Roll’s latest appearance for WWE was at WrestleMania 42, where he dramatically interfered in Orton vs Rhodes’ main event.
Jelly Roll divorce from Bunnie Xo finalized
The self-imposed hiatus comes months after the Grammy-winning artist was forced to put infidelity rumors to bed amid his divorce.
He claimed on stage that he and Bunnie Xo, 46, remained ‘best friends’ despite their split.
However, the couple have now unfollowed each other on Instagram.
It is unclear who unfollowed whom first, and whether they both unfollowed each other, or one removed the other as a follower.
UNILAD has previously contacted representatives for Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo for comment.
Musician has had dietary issues since split
The ‘Hands Up’ hitmaker admitted that following his divorce, he’s been struggling to keep to his diet.
In a YouTube video with influencer Salvatore Reedus, Jelly Roll, who has lost 200lbs on his weight-management journey, confessed he had succumbed to ‘stress-eating’.
It’s understood that a ‘dairy-free skillet cookie’ offered to him at a concert was a major binge trigger.
“I don’t eat nothing like that. I’m like a drug addict. You can’t eat that ‘cause if I ate one, I’ll eat two. I’ll eat four.
“So later that night, I’m at the taco truck getting a peanut butter fluff. Next thing I know, we’re at the rest stop, I’m looking for a chocolate bar.”
He claimed that going off his meal plan was akin to a ‘feeding frenzy’ and like a shark when it gets the taste of blood.
“Now it’s going to take me a whole another week to get that [taste] completely out of my mouth.
“I can’t have one anything. I’m like that with alcohol … I’ve never had a shot. I’ve never done a line of cocaine. I’ve never smoked a joint. You know what I mean?
“Either we’re smoking all day, we’re drinking all night, we’re doing coke. That’s how it’s working for me.”
Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo relationship timeline
August 2015
Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo meet at one of the former’s shows at the Las Vegas Country Saloon. This was before Jelly Roll enjoyed mainstream success. He’s living in a van and only around 20 people are at the gig. They talk backstage. At the time, Bunnie is dating someone else.
Later, Bunnie splits from her ex and asks a friend to give her Jelly Roll’s number. Bunnie says Jelly Roll would call and text her for advice about his daughter Bailee, from a previous relationship.
July 2016
The pair’s relationship turns romantic when Jelly Roll travels to Vegas to film a music video and Bunnie offers to put him up at her place.
August 2016
Jelly Roll proposes to Bunnie onstage at a Yelawolf and Deftones concert in Las Vegas. He tells her: “[I wanna know] will your fine a** marry my white trash a** tonight in Las Vegas?” That night, they tie the knot at The Little White Chapel.
August 23, 2016
Jelly Roll welcomes a son, Noah Buddy, with an ex. In 2016, Jelly Roll and Bunnie are also granted primary custody of Bailee due to her mother’s substance abuse issues.
2018
Jelly Roll cheats on Bunnie, and the pair temporarily separate. Jelly Roll later calls the affair ‘one of the worst moments of his adulthood’.
He says he ‘did a lot of work to repair that relationship’ on the Human School podcast. They rekindle their relationship later that year.
2019
Bunnie launches the Dumb Blonde podcast, which goes on to be a massive success, with Dolly Parton and MGK appearing as guests.
2022
Jelly Roll’s music takes off in a big way. His single ‘Son of a Sinner’ hits No. 1 on Billboard's US Country Airplay chart.
March 2023
Bunnie deletes her OnlyFans and leaves the sex industry behind.
August 31 2023
Bunnie and Jelly Roll return to The Little White Chapel in Vegas to renew their vows.
June 2024
Bunnie reveals on Instagram that the couple have decided to undergo IVF. She writes: “W/all odds stacked against us, it’s always been hard & we have only just begun.”
February 2026
Bunnie says that following Jelly Roll’s 275 pound weight loss, his penis has gotten ‘severely bigger’.
May 9 2026
The date of separation in Jelly Roll and Bunnie's divorce filing. Bunnie later reveals the couple have an argument, and she says in anger: “Well, then file the f**king divorce papers.”
Jelly Roll packs a bag and the couple don’t speak for weeks.
May 18 2026
Jelly Roll files for divorce, citing ‘irreconcilable differences’.
Lawyer Holly Davis - who doesn’t represent either party - tells People: “It's a very neutral and agreement-oriented filing. It doesn't look like a contested divorce filing.”
June 18 2026
Bunnie opens up on her podcast Dumb Blonde about the end of her marriage.
She says there was no cheating, and she and Jelly Roll are still planning to have a baby via IVF and co-parent it together.
Her IVF journey took a heartbreaking strain on her mental health, and she says it ‘wrecked me emotionally, spiritually, physically’.
She adds: “It was not mutual. Even though I told him to file the divorce papers, I was speaking out of anger and frustration. But was it necessary for us to have a wakeup call and to actually start having these real conversations? Absolutely.”
She adds that Jelly Roll is already dating other people, and she is ‘excited to discover myself single’.
The same night, Jelly Roll addresses speculation around the divorce onstage at Saratoga Springs, New York, saying the internet ‘is a liar’.
He adds: “Me and my wife are best friends, we will always be best friends. I will love her. She will probably be the only woman I'll ever love the way I loved her.”
July 4 2026
Bunnie kisses 24-year-old reality star Dylan Wolf at Jelly Roll’s Tennessee bar, Goodnight Nashville, while celebrating the Fourth of July. TMZ later shares footage of the intimate moment.
July 10 2026
Bunnie shares Jelly Roll's reaction to the kiss on her podcast, telling listeners that he totally 'gets it' and the venue was 'no issue at all'.
“I’m not dating anybody. I do not want to be with anybody. There’s an ice box where my heart used to be. That s**t is chained up,” she adds
July 17 2026
Bunnie and Jelly Roll finalize their divorvce. Jelly Roll is reportedly set to make a one-off lump-sum payment to Bunnie in lieu of alimony.
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Sex and Relationships, Jelly Roll, WWE
Ella Scott