Bunnie Xo is sharing her side of the story after news broke that Jelly Roll filed for divorce following nearly a decade of marriage. The podcast host addressed the split during a June 18 episode of her “Dumb Blonde” podcast, revealing that a heated argument over Mother’s Day weekend became the turning point in their relationship.
GettyOne of the biggest hurdles in their marriage, Bunnie said, was communication.
The Mother’s Day Argument That Changed Everything
She explained that rather than confronting issues directly, she and the country music star often kept their frustrations to themselves.
“We’ve never been really good” at disagreements, she said, describing their pattern of avoiding conflict as a “recipe for disaster.”
That tension finally boiled over during an argument that left her emotionally exhausted.
While Bunnie declined to reveal what sparked the disagreement, she admitted it pushed her to a breaking point. Feeling overwhelmed, she recalled delivering an ultimatum she never expected would become reality.
“I just looked at him, and I said, ‘Well, file the [Expletive] divorce papers,'” she said.
Bunnie explained that those words carried extra weight because she rarely makes threats she does not intend to keep.
“In our relationship, that is the one cardinal thing that you don’t say, even though my husband has said it numerous times…. But when I say it, it really holds weight, because I’m not the type of person who says what I don’t mean.”
After the argument, she packed a bag and left. The couple then spent weeks apart without speaking.
During that time, emotions continued to escalate. “During that, he was so mad, and we were so emotional that he ended up doing exactly what I told him to do and filing the divorce papers,” she said.
Bunnie acknowledged that the filing was not something she truly wanted.
“Was this divorce mutual? No. It was not mutual, even though I told him to file the divorce papers. I was speaking out of anger and just frustration. But was it necessary for us to have a wake-up call and for us to start having these real conversations? Absolutely.”
IVF Struggles Took a Heavy Toll on Their Marriage: Bunnie Xo Shares New Details About Split From Jelly Roll
GettyBeyond discussing the split, Bunnie opened up about another deeply personal struggle that had been weighing on the couple for years: their journey to have a child together.
The podcast host spoke candidly about undergoing IVF and the toll the process took on both her and Jelly Roll.
“My hat goes off to any woman, family, couple who is going through IVF because let me tell you something, dude,” she said. “That is one of the loneliest, darkest journeys you will be on.”
Bunnie said the experience affected nearly every part of her life, leaving her emotionally, physically and spiritually exhausted.
“It was so hard on me that for the past year and a half, I became a shell of the person I was because I’m doing these IVF journeys,” she said. “I’m fighting hard just to be able to produce enough eggs to make a baby with my husband, especially at my age.”
She also shared that the couple endured multiple losses while trying to expand their family.
“I’ve never talked about this, but Jay and I have lost four embryos,” she said.
“We’ve had three transfers, but we lost the two twins that we were gonna try to have, and then we lost the other two. And anybody that’s going through that and has to deal with these miscarriages, it’s gut-wrenching.”
