Jelly Roll‘s daughter wants the media to butt out of their family drama, according to Bunnie Xo‘s divorce confessions.
Bailee Ann DeFord took to TikTok this week to address the buzz around her dad’s split from his wife. She called the attention “crazy” and asked strangers to stay out of it.
The 18-year-old’s comments came just days after Jelly Roll filed for divorce from Bunnie Xo, ending nearly a decade of marriage. News of the split quickly sent fans spiraling into theories about what went wrong.
Bunnie Xo Says Jelly Roll’s Daughter Is ‘Mad’ At Them Both
Bunnie Xo addressed the fallout directly on the June 18 episode of her “Dumb Blonde” podcast. She said she’d texted Bailee beforehand, asking if there was anything the teen wanted defended.
According to Bunnie, Bailee’s answer centered on a need for more empathy. She said people need to stop expecting so much from public figures who never asked for that level of scrutiny.
Bunnie didn’t shy away from the tension in her own relationship with her stepdaughter either. She admitted Bailee was upset with her, too, since she had always played the stricter parent. In her words:
“The only woman she has had consistently in her life, she feels, is being taken from her, and it’s a weird transition that we’re gonna have to navigate. Of course, she’s mad at me, because I was always the f-cking disciplining parent in the relationship because he’s f-cking fun dad all the time.”
Bunnie said she understood the anger and wasn’t trying to suppress it. She made clear she’d give Bailee space to be mad for as long as she needed before adding that she was “mad” at her dad, too.
Bailee Ann DeFord Previously Slammed The Divorce Obsession
Bailee Ann finally addressed the growing attention surrounding Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO’s divorce, though not in the way that many fans would have thought.
The 18-year-old didn’t provide any details about the split, but she made it clear that she was annoyed with the “public’s interest” in her family’s affairs. After the divorce news broke, Bailee took to TikTok with a hard-hitting statement to TikTok fans.
As reported by The Blast, she wrote, “I am disgusted at how invested everyone is in a very clearly private family matter” and was asking people to “focus on their own lives instead.” She also told them that she was not prepared to discuss it in public yet, “I’m not speaking on it yet.”
Bunnie Xo And Her Stepdaughter’s Bond Runs Deep
Bailee Ann’s reaction carried extra weight because of the close relationship she has built with Bunnie Xo over the years. As The Blast noted, after Jelly Roll gained primary custody of his daughter in 2017, Bunnie stepped into a parental role and helped raise her, creating a bond that both have proudly shared online.
The two often shared photos and videos of themselves, with a common hashtag being #baileeandbunnie, and Bailee would commonly call Bunnie her mother. The Blast further reported that Bunnie has publicly discussed the relationship, citing similar childhood experiences as a catalyst for their relationship.
When asked about the influence that Bailee has on her life, Bunnie said in the past that she was the one who got her and Jelly Roll to become the adults and parents they needed to be.
The Doting Stepmother Waited Until Bailee Ann Was Ready Before Letting Go
Before moving forward with the divorce, Bunnie reportedly had one final priority: making sure Bailee Ann was ready for her next chapter. The Blast revealed that Bunnie struggled with the idea of leaving before her stepdaughter reached a major milestone.
Sources claimed Bunnie felt “spiritually tied” to Bailee and wanted to see her graduate high school and prepare for college before making such a significant change in her own life.
The reported decision highlights the bond they built over the years. Rather than focusing solely on the end of her marriage, Bunnie was said to be focused on ensuring the young woman she helped raise had stability and support before turning the page herself.
Bunnie Xo Reveals Divorce Was Never Really Her Choice
Bunnie Xo has revealed that a Mother’s Day argument with Jelly Roll became the turning point in their marriage. In another part of the “Dumb Blonde” podcast, she recalled reaching her limit and telling him to “file the f-cking divorce papers” during a heated exchange.
The moment carried extra weight because divorce was the one word she had always avoided using throughout their relationship. While Jelly Roll had allegedly mentioned it before, Bunnie admitted she never expected him actually to follow through after she said it.
As The Blast reported, the podcaster later clarified that the divorce was not truly her choice, explaining that her words came from frustration and exhaustion rather than a genuine desire to end the marriage.
But if years of unspoken feelings led to this breaking point, was the divorce really decided in one argument, or long before that?