Jelly Roll addressed the claims about his wife Bunnie Xo being a “gold digger,” but not with spite.
In his recent conversation with the radio program Taste the Country Nights, the singer weighed in on the not-so-pleasant nickname hurled at his partner for nine years. But instead of anger, the Sons of a Sinner hitmaker laughed it off.
“I love it when they call her a gold digger. She hates it. It just flames her up. But it just tickles me absolutely pink because when I met her, I was homeless living out of a 1996 conversion van.”
Jelly Roll continued:
“So if anyone was digging for gold it was I, Popeye. I was couch-surfing and made it to the bedroom.”
The couple, who have been married since 2016, have been candid about their relationship’s ups and downs, particularly the country star’s infidelity, as mentioned in Bunnie Xo’s memoir, Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic.
In an interview with Us Weekly last February, amid the release of her book, the influencer opened up about that stumbling block in their marriage when Jelly Roll had a 10-month affair with another woman in 2018. Bunnie Xo shared:
“I tried to be as real as possible with the situation. I think I might have even toned it down.”
She added:
“It’s just really important to be real. My husband is my best friend. I f***ing love that man, and we have been through hell.”
Nevertheless, despite the hurdle, the couple worked out their marriage, started afresh, and left those issues behind.
Jelly Roll calls wife Bunnie Xo a “beacon of change in my life”
In the few years that followed, Jelly Roll has been vocal about his affection for his wife, praising her left and right.
In 2022, the All My Life star revealed to the same radio show how “cool” his and Bunnie Xo’s first meeting was at one of his Las Vegas concerts in 2015.
“I’m not going to act like I shot my shot. She kind of shot hers. We had mutual friends. She said, ‘Yo. Just plug me in with Jelly.’ And I hit her on some other s**t. I was like, ‘Yo. I’m going to be coming out to shoot some content and video stuff.’ She was like, ‘Yeah! C’mon!’ I was like, ‘Cool, well I’m living in my van, so I’ll leave now.'”
After winning the New Artist of the Year at the 2023 CMA, Jelly Roll dedicated his heartfelt acceptance speech to Bunnie Xo.
“I got a thousand people to thank, but most importantly, my Lord and my wife. I love you so much. You changed my life.”
In the same year, the singer told Billboard that his wife is the “beacon of change in my life,” adding:
“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. I would have never got custody of my daughter without her. I wouldn’t have had the stability or the money.”
Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo renewed their vows that August in Las Vegas, where they originally got married.
Admitting that she learned that “love isn’t always pretty,” the influencer believes that the trials and tribulations were essential to attain strength in their marriage.
“It’s raw, it’s emotional and it’s a journey. I’m so happy for people who have never had to go through anything traumatic in their relationships. But I just feel like my husband and I had to go through that because it’s part of our testimony. It’s a part of what we’ve survived — we choose to be together every day.”
Edited by Gladys Altamarino