Jelly Roll Cries Over Daughter's Mother's Drug Addiction Struggle
Jelly Roll got emotional and cried while discussing how his daughter, Bailee, is deeply impacted by her birth mother’s drug addiction.
The country singer, 40, opened up about the situation and said that he was “passionate about broken people” during a recent interview on “The Pivot” podcast published on Thursday, March 27.
“My child’s mother has struggled with drug addiction since my daughter’s been born pretty much,” Jelly Roll (real name: Jason DeFord) explained. “I’ve seen the effect it had on her. I’ve got a 16, almost 17-year-old upstairs and I’ve seen the effect that it’s had — it’s truly affected her life. It’s really hurt her.”
The “Somebody Save Me” artist continued, “The addict is not the victim in that situation. The family is.”
Jelly Roll recalled how he discovered his ex’s recent arrest and said that someone contacted him about it because he doesn’t have social media and hadn’t heard about the incident yet. The person who contacted him advised him to “call and check” on Bailee later and “sent a link” to a news article.
“This was, like, breaking news. It only happened four or five days ago, but her mother had gone back to jail and had been caught with, like, meth or something,” he said. “I told my wife, ‘I’ve invited the world into our living room, so we’ve just got to accept what comes with that.’ This is my fault more than anybody’s … It broke my daughter’s heart. This is a 16, 17-year-old that knows her mother is a drug addict, but, like, her having to see the mugshot of her mother with just meth ate up on her face.”
Jelly Roll had to pause for a moment as he teared up talking about the situation.
“I had to watch her go through it all over again,” he continued after wiping a tear off his cheek. “I was like, ‘Ah, man,’ I forgot ’cause I’m like, I’m 40 and I’ve done a lot of therapy and I’ve done a lot of work and I have a relationship with God that it hurt me, but I just got to pray about it and move on. But I was like, ‘Ah, man, she’s 16, she don’t have any of those tools. She’s still gaining those tools. This hurts her.’”
Jelly Roll has struggled with his own drug use in the past and in 2008, he was arrested on a crack cocaine charge at just 23 years old. While he served time behind bars, his daughter, Bailee, was born and that caused him to reevaluate his lifestyle.
“A guard knocks on my cell door midafternoon during lockdown. He goes, ‘You had a kid today,’” the “Son of a Sinner” singer told Billboard in 2023. “I’ve never had nothing in life that urged me in the moment to know that I had to do something different. I have to figure this out right now.”
By the time Bailee’s second birthday rolled around, Jelly Roll was out of jail and back home with his daughter. But it’s not just Bailee he credits with helping him turn his life around, but his wife, Bunnie XO, as well.
Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO (real name: Alyssa DeFord) eloped in 2016 and were granted primary custody of Bailee. Jelly Roll also has a son, Noah, from a previous relationship.
“I would have never got custody of my daughter without her,” Jelly Roll told the outlet. “I wouldn’t have had the stability or the money.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health and/or substance use, you are not alone. Seek immediate intervention — call 911 for medical attention; 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; or 1-800-662-HELP for the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Helpline. Carrying naloxone (Narcan) can help reverse an opioid overdose.