He may have had an uncontroversial start to fatherhood, but Jelly Roll has always prioritized his family.
The country singer welcomed his first child, daughter Bailee Ann, with ex-girlfriend Felicia in 2008. At the time, Jelly (real name Jason DeFord) was serving a prison sentence for a drug dealing conviction.
“A guard knocks on my cell door midafternoon during lockdown. He goes, ‘You had a kid today,’” he told Billboard in June 2023. “I’ve never had nothing in life that urged me in the moment to know that I had to do something different. I have to figure this out right now.”
After learning about Bailee’s arrival, Jelly vowed that he would be there for his daughter Eight years later, the musician became a father for a second time when he welcomed son Noah Buddy in August 2016 with ex Melisa.
That same month he welcomed Noah, Jelly tied the knot with wife Bunnie XO. While the pair do not share children, Jelly has credited Bunnie as the reason why he was able to be a better father.
“You’re talking about a woman that came in and took a child that was soon to be born and a child that [we were] soon to have full custody of,” he said to Billboard. “I would have never got custody of my daughter without her. I wouldn’t have had the stability or the money.”
Keep scrolling to get to know Jelly’s family:
Bunnie XO
Jelly and Bunnie met in 2015 at one of the musician’s shows in Las Vegas. The following year, the couple eloped at a Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas.
“It takes a special kind of woman to raise a kid that isn’t her child and still treat the child as if she was. Bunnie is that special woman, outside of the social media, outside of the podcast, and all the business endeavors she does and helps me with, Bunnie is a beautiful soul,” Jelly wrote via Facebook alongside a photo of his wife with his daughter in May 2020. “She is kind, patient and caring. Over the years watching her relationship with Bailee blossom into this beautiful mother daughter bond that it has become has been nothing short of magical.”
Bailee Ann
In 2017, Jelly and Bunnie got custody of Bailee while her mother struggled with drug addiction. During a February 2024 appearance on her stepmom’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast, Bailee opened up about her struggles while she lived with her mom.
“I was still smoking a lot and doing whatever but I wasn’t doing coke anymore because my mom wasn’t around,” the teen recalled, while Bunnie noted her stepdaughter didn’t have access to harder drugs while her mother was not present. “Why would I? Didn’t have access, didn’t have need.”
While performing at Stagecoach in April 2024, Jelly brought his daughter out on stage for her birthday.
“I don’t wanna put her on blast, but my baby girl is 15 years old, and in like 10 days, she’ll be 16 years old,” he told the crowd at the music festival. “I see some of y’all little cowboys getting smiles, stop it. I’m looking at you. I see you.”
Noah Buddy
Jelly announced the arrival of his son in August 2016. “God Bless this Child to be everything I am not! Noah Buddy DeFord!” he wrote via Facebook at the time. “I pray he nor Bailee ever have to pay for their father’s sins. I’ll post more pics tomorrow.”
Seven years later, Noah made his debut on his stepmother’s social media page. (Bunnie later shared that she got permission from Noah’s mom to put the little one on camera.)
“My name is Noah and my favorite color is red,” he said in a July 2023 TikTok video.
