Jelly Roll is reflecting on one of the most painful chapters of his life, the time he cheated on his wife, Bunnie Xo.
The country star opened up about his regret during the Oct. 21 episode of the Human School Podcast, admitting that the affair was one of the lowest points in his adulthood.
“I don’t talk about this publicly at all,” Jelly Roll said. “But one of the worst moments of my adulthood was when I had an affair on my wife.”
The 40-year-old singer, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, said the experience left him deeply disappointed in himself.
“It was the first time that I was like, ‘I really can’t get this right at all. I know I’m in love with this woman.’ It was just such a—just really, really, really blew me back.”
Jelly Roll shared that the incident forced him to take accountability and put in the work to rebuild trust with Bunnie.
“I did a lot of work to repair that relationship,” he said. “The repair has been special. And we’re stronger than we could have ever been.”
Though he wishes things had unfolded differently, he’s proud of where they are today.
“I wish that our story would’ve went in the way that it never had an affair,” he admitted, “but I am proud of who we are today.”
Reflecting on what led him down that path, the Bloodline singer said his social circle at the time had a major influence on his choices.
“I was hanging around a bunch of people that were cheating on their wives,” he explained, adding that his surroundings often mirrored his habits.
“When I was doing cocaine, I was hanging around a bunch of people that were doing cocaine. When I was drinking a lot, I was hanging around a lot of people that were drinking a lot.”
He also revealed how difficult it was for him to walk away from toxic friendships simply because they were long-lasting.
“I used to be proud of long-standing friendships just because they had a number attached to ‘em,” he said. “Horrible humans. But I would just be proud to say, ‘That dude’s been with me 12 years.’”
Now, things look very different for Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo, whose real name is Alyssa DeFord.
The couple has surrounded themselves with people who bring positivity into their lives. “I wanted to be friends with people I wanted to be like,” Jelly Roll shared.
While Bunnie has mostly stayed quiet about the affair, she hinted at their brief split in 2018 through a TikTok post earlier this year.
“Who knew that us breaking up in 2018, me moving back to Vegas & you coming to get me back — would have put us on this wild journey called life,” she wrote.
“We finally committed to each other & did everything we promised each other the first night in 2016.”
In her post, she reflected on how far they’ve come as a couple. “Our castle in the sand had to crumble so we could rebuild on solid ground,” she said. “I yuh you so mushhh.”
Today, the pair appear stronger and more grounded, having turned a painful chapter into a story of growth, forgiveness, and resilience.
