She’s moving on, and she’s having some fun in the process.
Back in June, Jelly Roll filed for divorce from his wife Bunnie Xo after a decade of marriage. The petition for divorce was filed by the rapper-turned-country-artist, whose real name is Jason DeFord, against his wife, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, back on May 18. It was reportedly a “mutual decision” and described as a “private family matter.”
Whiskey Riff obtained a copy of the divorce complaint that was filed by the “Save Me” singer, which revealed that the couple separated on May 9, a week and a half before the request for a divorce was filed. Jelly Roll cited “irreconcilable differences” as the grounds for the divorce, which in Tennessee is a no-fault grounds for divorce that means that the parties agree on the terms of the separation.
The couple were married back in 2016 before renewing their vows in 2023, and have been incredibly transparent about their relationship, including their struggles along the way. They were in the middle of trying to have a baby together through IVF, and in the interview below, she somewhat dodged a question about whether or not her and Jelly Roll are still working on that together (while also confirming she still wants to have a baby).
She has spoken at-length about what happened between them since, and during a recent episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast, Bunnie took time to address some fans who have been concerned about her drinking. She has been sharing clips here and there having fun with her girlfriends, and I guess some people were worried she’d fallen out of sobriety, as she has previously talked about getting off hard drugs in 2017, and stopping drinking alcohol in 2018.
Bunnie says this is a topic she addressed before, but her problem with substances was never alcohol, and she stopped drinking for other reasons:
“Let’s talk about the elephant in the room here, let’s talk about my sobriety. I’ve addressed this numerous times. There’s news articles about it, there’s clips that you can find online. I never had a problem with alcohol. I never had a problem with drinking in general. I stopped drinking because I wanted to stop drinking, because the next day, my mental health could not handle it.
I would get depressed. I would have really bad anxiety, whatever, but your girl has been having a little fun in the comfort of my own home. With just the girls. I think I’ve been out, what, maybe like five times. I’ve been out five times, just having a blast. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with blowing off some steam. I’m literally blowing off 10 years of steam.
Sobriety is a different journey for everybody. It’s not black-and-white. I do understand, and I respect the fact… and I think we should insert the clip about me, talking about my sobriety when I drink in Rome right here.”
She then played a clip from a previous podcast episode where she talked about having a drink while on vacation in Rome a little while back, and how she never had an issue with alcohol, it was other kinds of drugs and pills. She added that she never went to rehab, and that her decision to get sober for her own mental health, not because she abused it.
Bunnie says her fans have been leaving comments that they miss the “old” her, when she would hang out on her farm and post videos with her animals, but she explained that that was the “the most depressed version of myself that I have ever been.”
“I wholeheartedly agree with that. I think that your journey is your journey. If you cannot have a couple drinks without getting out of control… don’t do it. I don’t have that problem. I can literally drink and have a blast and not fall back into old patterns. There’s people in my comment saying, ‘Oh, she’s spiraling. I’m having fun. I think the craziest thing is is that you guys are like, we miss the Bunnie who sat outside with her animals.
The Bunnie who sat outside with her animals was the most depressed version of myself that I have ever been. I literally sat outside with my animals and cried and just soaked in their love and their energy. I mean, I lost babies, I went through IVF. I was having issues with certain things in my life, and that was me going out there, and just kind of resetting and being in their energy, which I love to be there.
But you guys are saying that you miss a version of me that was the most unhappy version of myself. I don’t think it’s fair to not allow a woman, or a person ,who is trying to find themselves in a world that they haven’t been in before. 10 years ago when I was single, it was a different world. And it’s a newer world now, and I’m just trying to navigate it.”
Bunnie promised that she would never lie to her fans, closing it out by saying “healing looks different for everybody,” and if she wants to have a “tequila shot,” that’s what she’s gonna do:
“But at the same time, I’m trying to make new memories, I’m trying to just have fun, and if that involves a little bit of alcohol, I’m gonna have fun. When I said we were gonna have a Bad Bunnie summer, I wasn’t playing. I tell you guys everything I do before I do it. I’ve never lied. I’ve never let you guys astray.
I’m just having fun, and I deserve to have fun without being judged. There’s people in my comment saying that I’m on drugs. I would never. I would never… my fear, I think when you do a s*** ton of drugs, especially as many I’ve done in my life, you develop what’s called drug OCD, some people do once they get sober. I’m so scared. I don’t even want people who are around me.
But we’ve just been having a blast, and it’s only been like, dude, literally not even a month… since my freaking divorce was finalized. I think healing looks different for everybody, and if mine includes a little f****** tequila shot, I’m gonna do it.”
Of course, divorce is never easy, and it sounds like Bunnie is doing what she can to continue to move on in a way that feels right for her. While it’s nice that her fans are seemingly concerned out of love for her, Bunnie is a grown woman and it sounds like she’s got it all under control:
@ohheyitsbunnieNew pod just dropped on YT: DumbBlondePod
The full podcast is available below.
