Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, were married for almost 10 years before reports surfaced in June 2026 that he had filed for divorce. They never had children together, even after a difficult IVF journey, which makes the imagined faces waiting below feel even more bittersweet.
The couple did not have children, but technology can offer a playful glimpse into what their family might look like.
A Split That Arrived After Years of Public Devotion
The musician filed for divorce from Bunnie in May 2026 in Tennessee, according to court records obtained by TMZ. Sources told the outlet the decision was mutual and described it as a private family matter.
The outlet later reported that the divorce documents showed the couple’s date of separation and obtained photos of a moving truck outside their Tennessee home, making the breakup look painfully real for fans who had watched them build a life together.
The news was especially startling because Jelly and Bunnie had never sold fans a spotless fairytale. Their appeal came from how openly they discussed the hard parts and still seemed to choose each other.
Their marriage was messy and deeply public, but for a while, it seemed like a child together might become the next chapter.
Their Beginning Was Complicated From the Start
Jelly and Bunnie first met in 2015, before his country fame exploded. In her memoir, “Stripped Down,” the podcaster wrote that she was still with a man she called Karma, whom she described as abusive, when she first encountered Jelly at a concert.
She admitted the country crooner “was not” her type at the time. Still, he stayed on her radar, and the two later reconnected after her ex went to prison.
They married in August 2016, but even their walk down the aisle came with serious baggage. One week before the wedding, Jelly welcomed his son, Noah Buddy, with another woman.
Bunnie later addressed that timeline in her memoir. She explained that Jelly had been in an on-and-off relationship for years before they got together, and that the woman was already eight or nine months pregnant when Bunnie and Jelly committed to each other.
Her version was blunt, but it also made one thing clear: she did not enter the marriage with illusions. She knew the story had loose ends, and she chose him anyway.
Bunnie Became a Stepmom Before She Felt Ready
But Noah wasn’t Jelly’s only child. The country artist was already a father to Bailee Ann when Bunnie came along, and his daughter later became a major part of their family story.
In her memoir, the podcaster wrote about helping her husband gain custody of Bailee when the girl was seven. Apparently, the girl had been living in alarming conditions, including a home where she had no room of her own, had to take care of other children while being a child herself, and was around a registered sex offender.
Bunnie also wrote that Bailee was malnourished, which later created complications during a tonsil surgery because her tissue would not clot properly. The situation threw her into motherhood under frightening circumstances.
She admitted she was overwhelmed by becoming a wife, a mother figure, and a newly sober woman all at once. This is what led to their first breakup. “I was so overwhelmed,” she wrote, adding that she but now knows, “I’ll never abandon my family.”
Their Marriage Had Its Own Rules
Fortunately, the couple reconciled and moved into a home in Las Vegas. But the relationship stayed complicated, and Bunnie later wrote that Jelly moved back to Nashville without telling her while speaking to an ex behind her back.
She still traveled to Nashville to fight for the marriage. That choice showed how much she wanted the relationship to work, even when it looked painfully unfair from the outside.
The podcaster also explained that their marriage did not follow traditional rules. She described their bond as “free, not open,” saying the real issue was not freedom itself, but dishonesty.
But that line between freedom and betrayal became even more important after Jelly later admitted he had been unfaithful.
Jelly Roll Publicly Admitted to an Affair
In October 2025, Jelly spoke about infidelity on the Human School Podcast. He called the affair “one of the worst moments” of his adulthood.
He said the betrayal made him feel like he could not get things right, even though he knew he loved Bunnie. He also connected that period to the company he kept, saying he had been around people who were cheating on their wives.
But he worked hard to repair the damage. He described their recovery as “special” and said they became stronger than they had been before.
He also said, “I’m in no way glad it happened, but man, I’m proud of who we are today. You know what I mean?” That made it seem, at least publicly, like the couple had survived one of their ugliest chapters.
His Praise for Her Was Loud and Loving
Afterward, Jelly often used social media to celebrate Bunnie in many ways. In a 2023 Instagram post, he wrote, “A BUNNIE APPRECIATION POST!” and said he had “never been moved more by a story” than hers.
He praised her for building the “Dumb Blonde Podcast” without his help. He said she did not want to be just “Jelly Roll’s wife,” but wanted her own platform to empower women.
The post also made their bond look bigger than a celebrity romance. Jelly described Bunnie as someone who had helped save him during a dark time and build something powerful for herself.
Then, in May 2026, he posted a reel about their vow renewal at the same Las Vegas chapel where they first married. He wrote that his only regret from their original wedding was never seeing her in a dress.
“We made that right,” he shared. He also called her “mama bear” and “my anchor,” which is why the divorce filing felt so jarring when it surfaced soon afterward.
IVF Became One of Their Most Vulnerable Chapters
Alongside the highs and lows of their marriage, Bunnie often spoke openly about trying to have a baby with the country artist. In a February 2026 interview with People, she said she believed this painful path might help her speak for other women going through IVF.
Many people supported Bunnie Xo as she shared her story regarding her difficult path to motherhood.
She connected the journey to the abortions she had when she was younger and said she felt God was putting her through the experience again for a reason. Bunnie also called IVF “one of the hardest things” she had ever faced.
Of course, she was already stepmom to Bailee Ann, now 17, and Noah, now 9. But she and Jelly still hoped for a child who was biologically theirs.
She was very hopeful about their IVF journey.
The Process Was Brutal on Her Body
Bunnie also described the physical toll of IVF around that time on an Instagram post connected to her podcast. Her words were graphic, but that was the point; she was not dressing up the process for anyone.
“I’m in medical menopause and it’s [expletive] hellacious,” she said. She also called it “the worst thing I’ve ever been through in my life.”
The podcaster explained that she was doing a second round of IVF and had already frozen eggs during a previous cycle. She said she understood why some women go through multiple rounds, but could not imagine doing five to 10 cycles herself.
She also discussed Lupron, saying her estrogen dropped drastically and left her feeling physically ill. She described bone pain, cold sweats, blood sugar problems, nausea, dry skin, itching, and emotional crashes.
It was raw, uncomfortable, and honest, and it came during a period when she and her husband were almost desperate to have a baby.
They Had Baby Fever
During the January 28, 2026, episode of Netflix’s “Star Search,” Jelly reacted to 8-year-old aerialist Kaylen Fairchild with a sweet confession reported by People.
“First of all, you are just the cutest little nugget I’ve ever seen in my life,” he told her. Then he added, “Me and my wife have baby fever, and you just tripled that tonight.”
Bunnie echoed that longing months later, in March, when she said she was actively going through IVF treatments again. She described the hormones, shots, emotions, and worry involved in trying to have “a little piece of my husband and me.”
She also said adoption remained an option if IVF did not work. “If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. And if not, we can always adopt,” she shared.
AI Imagines the Children They Might Have Had
Sadly, Jelly and Bunnie never welcomed a child together despite all their struggles, and with their reported divorce, that dream may never happen for them as a couple. Still, AI can now give our readers a way to imagine what their children could have looked like.
Several photos show a little girl with a soft face and a bold spark, the kind of child fans could picture growing up around music, microphones, and a family that never did anything quietly.
Other images show a young boy with a gentle, mischievous look that matched the couple’s warm but chaotic love story.
These photos cannot change how the marriage ended. But they do put faces to the dream Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo once spoke about so openly.
The images are not real family photos. They are imagined portraits inspired by both stars, and that is what makes them feel strangely emotional after everything Bunnie revealed about IVF.
After the divorce reports, these AI-created children feel like a quiet look at the family chapter that might never arrive.