Over the past several years, Jelly Roll – born Jason Bradley DeFord – and his wife Bunnie Xo (Alisa DeFord) have openly shared their struggles with overcoming addiction with their fans on social media.
Crediting sobriety to his children Bailee, 15, and son Noah, 7, from two prior relationships, and his wife Bunnie, the country music hitmaker tells People that family is everything.
“I’m very anchored in my family,” says the Nashville-born Jelly, adding he was serving time for crack cocaine when Bailee was born. “Being a father is so important to me. The single most impactful event of my entire life was having my daughter. It changed everything.”
The 39-year-old singer also praises Bunnie Xo, a former sex worker who alongside her husband stopped popping pills and snorting cocaine.
“A lot is often said or made about my story, but the truth is, I’ve never been moved more by a story than the story of my wife,” the “Save Me” singer writes in a Facebook post, captioned “Bunnie appreciation.”
Referring to her previous relationship, where it’s claimed she was abused, the man continues, “To watch what this woman has overcame and her passion and determination to be something better has inspired me from the moment I met her…She saved me in one of the darkest times of my life. She has been nothing but supportive.”
“Let’s keep changing the world a little at a time,” he adds in the post shared July 2023.
‘God’s got me’
One year later, Bunnie Xo, the host of the Dumb Blonde podcast, revealed on Snapchat (via Country Now) that results of a recent MRA (Magnetic resonance angiography) indicates that she may have “an internal carotid artery aneurysm.”
“It can’t be ruled out,” says the 44-year-old model. “It’s not confirmed, it’s not denied.”
She then goes onto explain that she’ll meet with a vascular neurosurgeon, and also have more tests to hopefully diagnose the problem.
“I’m really f***ing scared and stressed out about it, but I know God’s got me, dude,” she said, adding she spent the past hour crying and praying “He didn’t bring me this far to just f***ing bring me this far. I got a lot of s*** I got to do still.”
And then on July 23, she shared on Facebook that she was “up early for an MRI/MRA” and working through her claustrophobia to conquer her fears.
Over the next several days, the inspiring model continued to share posts on social media, many where she gushed over Jelly, her biggest champion, who recently released “Lonely Road,” a collaboration with Machine Gun Kelly .
“The safest of spaces” she captions a photo where she’s seen kissing her husband, the “Son of a Sinner” singer.
Later, the self-proclaimed “hypochondriac” shared a much-anticipated update with her eager fans: “[The doctor] told me he does not think that it is an aneurysm. He told me that I am cleared, that he thinks it’s an artifact, and he also thinks that, in six months whenever I come back to re-test and do another CT scan, that he will be able to prove that it is an artifact.”
According to the Radiological Society of North America, an artifact “can be caused by software, hardware, pulse sequences, or factors related to the patient (eg, tissue heterogeneity or movement).”
‘Transparency is healing’
Fans jumped into the comments section of Bunnie’s Facebook update, some sharing their own stories with aneurysms and others applauding her refreshing candor.
“This is good news! Thank you for sharing so much with us. Your transparency is healing to many,” shares one fan. A second writes, “I had an aneurysm scare last fall as well, the relief when the doctors cleared me was indescribable!”
A third netizen writes, “I lost my mom 17 years ago she was only 52 she had a brain aneurysm she was also an organ donor. Please get regular check-ups from a primary if possible early on diagnosed better outcomes.”
Another praises her openness: “You share your life and love so genuinely – you have shown so many of us struggling and seeking whatever higher power a person believes in that your soul is pure, beautiful, powerful and worthy. Thank you for being you.”
Days later Bunnie – who launches season eight of her podcast on August 8 – shared another post, expressing her deepest gratitude for life.
“I tell you what, this health scare put so much in perspective for me. It honestly made me want to change a lot of things in my life.” The post continues, “Even my husband texting me last night saying, ‘You’re my best friend.’ Brought me to tears. You don’t realize how much you appreciate life & the ppl in it until you feel like you could lose it & them at any moment.”