Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo’s divorce had been building behind the scenes for years over their changing lifestyles.
“Whether that’s fair or not, it became increasingly difficult to reconcile those two worlds.”
The insider continued to claim, “A lot of people want to point to one thing, but it was really a combination of issues that had been building for years.”
“They came from similar worlds when they met and bonded over surviving difficult circumstances, but over time their lives started moving in different directions,” the source said. “Jelly has changed tremendously over the last few years. His focus shifted to his health, faith, family and the long-term legacy he wants to leave behind.”
The “Dumb Blonde” podcast host shared a racy image just hours before news broke of Jelly’s divorce filing.
Bunnie shared a steamy photo of herself wearing pink satin lingerie. In the snap, she sat up on her knees on a brown couch as she began to take off her bra strap.
“She’s getting her sparkle back,” she wrote atop the photo.
“Bunnie has always been unapologetically herself, and while that’s something [Jelly’s] admired about her, there were times when it felt like they were no longer aligned with where he saw his life heading or what he envisioned for the future,” the source said.
In January, Bunnie opened up about how she and Jelly Roll were trying to have a baby via in vitro fertilization.
In 2018, Bunnie and Jelly briefly separated after the “Son of a Sinner” singer had a months-long affair.
“When you add in the pressure of fame, constant public scrutiny and then the unresolved issues from the earlier years of their marriage, including trust issues they worked hard to overcome, it created a situation where they kept finding themselves having the same conversations over and over,” the source said.
“The sad part is that Bunnie stood by him through everything. She was there before the fame, before all the awards, before his sold out shows.”
“She stayed through some incredibly difficult periods, including challenges that would have ended a lot of marriages,” the insider added.
It was revealed on Monday that the “Wild Ones” singer, 41, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, filed for divorce from Bunnie, 46, on May 18 after almost a decade of marriage.
The legal documents, which were filed in Williamson County, Tennessee, cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their breakup.
Jelly Roll and Bunnie, whose real name is Alisa Andrea Carter, secretly tied the knot at a Las Vegas courthouse in August 2016 — just one year after the couple met at one of the country singer’s concerts.
They married the same night that Jelly Roll proposed. In 2023, they renewed their vows.
During their relationship, Bunnie served as a stepmother to Jelly Roll’s two children — daughter Bailee Ann, 18, and son Noah Buddy, 9.
Most recently, a moving truck was spotted outside of their shared residence in Tennessee. It’s unclear at this time as to whose items were being moved from their marital home.
