Country star Jelly Roll and podcaster Bunnie XO are opening up about their “surprise” plans to expand their family via in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Jelly Roll made the impromptu announcement on the podcast Bussin’ With the Boys on June 3 while talking about his recent focus on fitness. When host Will Compton asked Jelly Roll what “feels different” and more “intentional” about this health kick, the “Son of a Sinner” singer initially explained that he simply wanted to “feel good.”
After a pause, he continued, “I’ll let y’all know if we can keep this part in. My wife and I are talking about having a baby.”
On a personal level, Jelly Roll explained that the decision was a wake-up call. “It really made me realize that at almost 40… it means I got to live to at least 60. I got to see this kid into college.” He added that he had never intended to get to his sixties — his goal was to make it to 55. “I think [the Grateful Dead lead singer Jerry] Garcia died at 56,” he said. “I was young, so I was like, ’56 would be great for me! …It’s better than 27 when all the other stars died. It’s 27 or 56 in the celebrity world. Let me be 56.'”
Now, though, his thought process has changed. “I’d like to see my 60s, you know what I mean?” Jelly Roll said. When it came to getting motivated to prioritize his health, “that [realization] really lit it up.”
Bunnie XO, who tied the knot with Jelly Roll in 2016, shared a clip from the podcast on Instagram to give fans more insight into their plans to expand their family and share that journey with the world.
“Papabear dropped a surprise on this pod today,” the Dumb Blonde podcast host wrote over the clip. “We had planned on doing this privately, but decided our IVF journey needed to be shared because we’ve always been so open. And w/ all odds stacked against us, it’s already been hard & we have only just begun.”
Jelly Roll is already a father to two kids, Bailee Ann, 16, and Noah, 7, from a previous relationship. He’s praised Bunnie XO’s commitment to being a stepmother, noting that she and Bailee have a “beautiful mother-daughter bond” in a 2020 Facebook post. “You are the epitome of a good mom and deserve more credit than anyone because you didn’t have to step up to the plate the way you did,” Jelly Roll wrote. “You chose to step up and man you have knocked it out of the park.”
Now, Bunnie XO said, they’re looking to “add to our already perfect family,” and the journey has already begun. “We have been meeting w/ IVF doctors & exploring all our options,” the 44-year-old wrote, adding that she and her husband are “SO excited & scared all at the same time.” Bunnie XO and Jelly Roll are among the latest celebrities to open up about their IVF journeys, joining the likes of Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker, and Amy Schumer, and Gabrielle Union. As a fertility treatment, the IVF process involves collecting eggs and fertilizing them with sperm in a lab setting, then implanting a viable embryo in the uterus.
As Bunnie XO explained, “We genuinely never thought we’d want to add to our family but something changed this year.” She finished the video by asking followers to “send all your love our way,” and captioned the post, “God Willing- Baby DeFord 2026.”
Before you go, read about these stars who’ve opened up about their health issues:
Leave a Comment