Bunnie Xo is opening up about the early days of her marriage to Jelly Roll — and setting the record straight on a rumor that’s followed them for years.
Ahead of the release of her memoir Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic, Bunnie Xo sat down with Extra’s Terri Seymour to reflect on her past, her growth, and the unconventional beginnings of her relationship with the Grammy-winning country star.
And yes, she addressed the long-running questions about whether their marriage has ever been “open.”
Their Unconventional Beginning
Bunnie Xo explained that while their relationship looked different in the beginning, that chapter is firmly behind them, saying, “It’s completely closed now, in case anybody wants to know.”
She and the “Save Me” singer tied the knot in 2016 and renewed their vows in 2023. Bunnie Xo is also stepmom — though she warmly considers them her own — to Jelly Roll’s daughter, Bailee, and son, Noah.
Read More: Jelly Roll Swears Bunnie Xo Saved His Life in New Love Song, ‘Thorns’
Looking back, she says both she and her husband were navigating love without strong examples to guide them.
“My husband was raised in a home where… we were not taught how to love properly,” she said. “We didn’t know.”
In those early days, honesty mattered more than traditional labels.
“It wasn’t like we were swingers… putting pineapples out on your doors,” Bunnie Xo clarified. “It was just more fluid, like… ‘We don’t believe in monogamy right now so, you know, if there’s something that you want, just be honest about it.’”
Read More: 20 Totally Adorable Pictures of Jelly Roll and His Wife, Bunnie Xo [Photos]
At the time, she explained, that approach felt like a way to avoid blindsiding each other.
“We were two wild hyenas,” she said. “We just said, ‘Hey, look, if you’re out on the road and you meet somebody, just tell me about it. I don’t want to find out about it later.’”
Growth, Grace + a Different Kind of Love
Bunnie Xo credits Jelly Roll with loving her without trying to change her — something she says ultimately changed everything.
“He never tried to save me,” she shared. “He never tried to come in and be like, ‘You can’t do this. You need to change who you are.’ He always just loved me where I was at, and the way that he loved me made me want to change for him.”
Before becoming the podcast host and personality fans know today, Bunnie Xo — born Alisa DeFord — endured homelessness as a teen in Las Vegas, struggled with addiction, escaped domestic abuse, and worked as an escort while trying to survive.
“I don’t want anybody to think that I glamorize that lifestyle,” she said. “It was a means to an end, and I was in survival mode.”
Read More: Bunnie Xo Slams a Fan for Judging How She Handled Jelly Roll’s Affair
Now, years into their marriage, she says their relationship has evolved as they have.
For Bunnie Xo, sharing her full story in her memoir is about closing old chapters — and making it clear that who they were isn’t who they are.
Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic is out Tuesday (Feb. 17).
Jelly Roll: 27 Stunning Facts About the ‘Save Me’ Singer
Jelly Roll is country music’s most fascinating character. His life has taken dozens of wild twists and turns, and he’s been honest about all of it. Here are 27 facts about the “Save Me” singer and his family.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
