Who is Jelly Roll? What is his real name? Does he have any children?
Jelly Roll won Male Video of the Year, Male Breakthrough Video of the Year, and First Digital Performance of the Year at the 2023 CMT Awards.
The 38-year-old “Son of a Sinner” singer and first-time nominee also took the stage at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas to perform Need A Favour.
The tattooed singer got emotional during the ceremony, thanking the country radio industry for their acceptance and shouting out to those who felt like him.
He said: ‘You can be whatever you want to be. I promise you. I told them I wanted to be a country singer and I’m here at the CMT Awards.’
But who is Jelly Roll? MailOnline reveals all you need to know about the American convict turned country singer who is married to Bunnie XO.
Who is Jelly Roll? Jelly Roll, 38, won Male Video of the Year, Male Breakthrough Video of the Year and First Digital Performance of the Year at the 2023 CMT Awards
Country star: The Son of a Sinner singer and first-time nominee also took the stage at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas to perform Need A Favor
What is the real name of Jelly Roll and why is it called Jelly Roll?
Jelly Roll’s real name is Jason DeFord. He was born on December 4, 1984 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jelly Roll is not his legal name. The singer has previously revealed that it was the name his mother gave him when he was a ‘chubby kid’ and it stuck.
The rapper-turned-country singer was jailed on and off for nearly a decade until 2008, when his first child was born.
What was Jelly Roll’s debut album?
Jelly Roll’s debut album Year Round was released on April 19, 2011 through the Hypnotize Minds label.
His most recent album, Ballads of the Broken, was released on September 17, 2021 through the BBR Music Group label.
Jelly Roll’s next album Whitsitt Chapel will be released on June 2, 2023 via BBR Music Group.
Wife: Jelly Roll is married to Bunnie DeFord aka Bunnie XO, 42, is a model, podcast host and YouTuber who owns Dumb Blonde Productions.
Who is Jelly Roll’s wife?
Jelly Roll is married to Bunnie DeFord, also known as Bunnie XO.
The 42-year-old is a model, podcast host and YouTuber, owner of Dumb Blonde Productions and self-proclaimed ‘trailer park Barbara Walters’.
The couple met on Fremont Street in Las Vegas at the Country Saloon in 2015, when Bunnie was a high-end escort while Jelly Roll was broke and living out of a van.
They got married on August 31, 2016 in Las Vegas the same day the singer took one knee.
Jelly Roll proposed to Bunnie onstage at a Yelawolf/Deftones concert, and the couple headed straight to the courthouse where they were married that night.
Does Jelly Roll have children?
Jelly Roll has two children from previous relationships: daughter Bailee Ann DeFord, who was born on May 22, 2008, and son Noah Buddy DeFord, who was born in August 2016.
At the time Bailee Ann was born, her father Jelly Roll was in prison, but he vowed to trade his life for his daughter.
The Son of a Sinner singer previously revealed: “I was jailed when a guard knocked on my cell door and gave me the news that my daughter was born.”
Bailee Ann’s mother is ex-Jelly Roll Felicia, a former drug addict who has also been in and out of jail.
Jelly Roll’s wife, Bunnie, helped Jelly Roll gain custody of Bailee Ann in 2016, and the couple have raised her together ever since.
Bailee Ann often joins Jelly Roll onstage to perform Tears Could Talk, and is featured on the studio version of the song, and has also written a verse on Sunshine After the Rain.
Some reports claim that Jelly Roll is the biological father of four children in total.
Father: Jelly Roll has two children from a previous relationship: daughter Bailee Ann DeFord, who was born on May 22, 2008, and son Noah Buddy DeFord, who was born in August 2016.
Family: Bailee Ann’s mother is ex-Jelly Roll Felicia (pictured front left), a former drug addict who has also been in and out of jail. Jelly Roll’s wife, Bunnie, helped Jelly Roll gain custody of Bailee Ann (pictured front right) in 2016
Why was Jelly Roll in prison?
According Readers DigestDuring his teens and early twenties, Jelly Roll was in and out of jail for numerous petty crimes.
According All Nashhe also served time in prison for aggravated robbery and drug possession with intent to deliver.
Jelly Roll spent time in prison for various crimes, including aggravated robbery and drug possession.
The ex-con left his life of crime for a career in music and has now released a wide variety of music for over a decade.
Although Jelly Roll has written, recorded, and performed rap, rock, and more, now he’s made his mark with his own take on country music.