Jelly Roll's Week From Hell: Hospitalized, Then Divorce Bombshell

Sometimes the worst weeks come all at once. Jelly Roll found that out the hard way in mid-June when a nasty sinus infection sent him to the hospital just seven days before his divorce from Bunnie Xo became public news.

The 41-year-old rapper (real name Jason Bradley DeFord) was in the middle of the Big Ass Stadium Tour supporting Post Malone when things went sideways. On Tuesday, June 9, he powered through a show at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina despite feeling like he’d been hit by a truck. A sinus infection had him swollen and miserable, but he made it through his set anyway—barely. That same night, he checked into a local hospital to get treatment, so wiped out that he couldn’t even make his usual cameo during Post Malone’s (real name Austin Richard Post) main performance where he sings“Losers”with the headliner.

When Jelly Roll announced the hospital visit via TikTok the next day, he didn’t sugarcoat it.“I’m telling you, I was puffy-faced. It was bad, dude. The sinus infection was bad,”he recalled with a laugh, adding that the steroids they pumped him full of left him feeling jacked up. What came next, though, showed the human side of touring life: Post Malone sent him flowers with a get-well card. For Jelly Roll, it was a moment worth celebrating.“I love you, Post,”he gushed, praising the 30-year-old musician as not just a rock star but genuinely the nicest guy in the world.

But the real storm was brewing behind the scenes. Just one week later—on June 17—Us confirmed that Jelly Roll had filed for divorce from his wife of a decade in Tennessee on May 18. The divorce documents cited“irreconcilable differences,”noting that the two were“unable to live together successfully as Husband and Wife”any longer. The couple, who tied the knot in August 2016, share no children together, though Jelly Roll is a father of two from prior relationships—daughter Bailee Ann, 18, with ex-girlfriend Felicia Beckwith and son Noah Buddy, 9, with ex Melisa Ann Cowell.

Since then, both Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo (real name Alisa DeFord) have been active on social media in their own ways. Jelly Roll removed references to Bunnie from his Instagram bio and posted updates about his 275 lb weight loss journey. Bunnie Xo, meanwhile, posted lingerie photos and videos hinting that she was“getting her sparkle back”—including one set to Nickelback’s“How You Remind Me,”a track widely understood to be about toxic relationships. It’s the kind of subtle social media messaging that says more than any statement ever could.

For Jelly Roll, the timing was rough. One moment he’s fighting off a sinus infection to deliver for his fans, the next he’s dealing with the very public unraveling of his marriage. At least he had Post Malone’s kindness to lean on. Sometimes that’s all you get in a week like that.