Jelly Roll and his wife, Bunnie Xo, have always been honest about the trials they’ve gone through as a couple. One of those trials involved the “American Idol” Artist in Residence admitting he cheated on her two years into their marriage.
At the season finale of his new show, “Star Search,” the country star explained more about how they repaired their marriage during that difficult time, and that it all came down to love.
Jelly Roll Reveals ‘Love’ and ‘Communication’ Key to Marriage Repair After Betrayal
“Love, man,” Jelly Roll told PEOPLE when asked about how he and Bunnie Xo repaired their marriage. “Love will always do it.”
“Communication, just believing you’re with the right person and believing that change can actually happen,” he continued. “That’s why we’ve been so honest about this story with everybody. We knew it would come with blowback, but our heart was to hope that somebody would hear it and believe that they could change.”
This past month, the “Dumb Blonde” podcaster released her memoir, “Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic.” She vulnerably revealed how devastated she was when she learned about his betrayal.
“The pain was so intense that I genuinely just wanted to end it all,” she wrote. “I went into my bathroom and grabbed a bottle of pills I had stashed in case of an emergency and held them in my hand. I stared at the bottle, wondering what it would feel like to die from an overdose.”
Ultimately, she put the pills down. She and Jelly Roll separated for three months, and then began the difficult journey of rebuilding their marriage.
Jelly Roll Calls Wife’s Account of Affair “Rough” But Praises Her Bravery
Jelly Roll admitted that reading his wife’s words was “rough at times,” but ultimately, he was incredibly proud of her for being “so brave.”
“We went through a lot of pain and having to go through it together, but reading the whole book and seeing where it ended at is really touching,” he said.
In Oct., 2025, Jelly Roll explained to the “Human School” podcast that the affair was “one of the worst moments of my adulthood.” However, while he wished it hadn’t happened, he also said that he was “proud of who we are today.”
“I did a lot of work to repair that relationship,” he said. “The repair has been special, man. We’re stronger than we could have ever been.”
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