Jelly Roll’s fans and critics have different opinions on his so-called “open marriage” with his wife, Bunnie XO. He spilled all the tea in the most shocking, eye-opening interview yet with Evan Paul on Taste of Country Nights. This episode was so dramatic and adult-oriented that Evan had to give a disclaimer about language and mature themes!
In a voiceover, after the interview with Jelly Roll started, Evan said that Jelly Roll “was willing to talk about everything.” He added, “I tell you, few artists [are] this honest.” But if Jelly Roll is that honest, why did he allegedly break a promise to Bunnie?
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Before Jelly Roll dropped the bombshell on his broken promise, he revealed intimate details about a recent sad family moment. Billboard reported that Bunnie revealed on May 8th that her dad, Bill, had passed away. Bill had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer a couple of years ago, and Bunnie described the shock of finding out her parent was fatally ill.
She wrote this post the day after she found out about Bill’s fatal illness. Bunnie revealed, “I received one of the worst calls yesterday that shook me to my core.” Bunnie could not believe that Bill had been “silently battling Stage 4 cancer for the past year.
Bill Was Moved to Hospice Care in 2023
The only other person who knew was his wife, Bunnie’s stepmother. Bill sounded like a stubborn guy. Bunnie confirmed that he had “insisted” that no one else find out he had cancer because he wanted “to try to heal it himself” with holistic remedies.
By the time Bunnie learned how bad it was, the cancer had spread to Bill’s bone marrow. Bunnie said that her dad’s “bones [were] breaking.” She also revealed another heartbreaking detail.
RELATED: Bunnie Speaks Out on Jelly Roll
Bunnie described how Bill couldn’t “lift his arms” or walk. He could “barely eat,” and he was “in so much pain” that she couldn’t “even hug him.”
Bunnie and Jelly Roll weren’t having her dad spend his last months alive in such a terrible condition. She was able to get him out of his house into “hospice care in late 2023,” according to Billboard, and Bill continued to fight.
Bill was healthy enough for a few months to undergo operations to make him more comfortable. Billboard reported, “he underwent his second hip replacement surgery” in February 2024.
Bunnie Is Doing Better
Jelly Roll’s interview with Evan was posted on May 24th. Evan asked, “How are you and your wife doing after Bill passed?”
Before Jelly Roll answered, he revealed how much that question meant to him. Jelly Roll told Evan, “I thank you for asking first.” Evan was “the first person to ask” about Bill, even though Jelly Roll had done “two days of media” interviews before their conversation.
As Taste of Country reported, “Jelly Roll’s wife is hurting.” Although, Jelly Roll told Evan there was light coming through the darkness.
Jelly Roll confirmed that Bunnie was “doing better,” but she was still hurting. He also made a deeply personal revelation about Bunnie and Bill’s history.
He told Evan that Bunnie and Bill “didn’t have the best relationship throughout her whole life” and “they really didn’t start getting too cool” until Bunnie “was in her 30s.” Shockingly, life was never perfect for Bunnie and her dad.
Jelly Roll added that Bunnie and Bill’s relationship continued to be “very tumultuous.” He compared Bill’s passing to “a sad ending to a book that already wasn’t incredible.”
Yet, Jelly Roll said that his wife “is holding her head up fine.” He confessed, “I love Bill,” and “rest his soul.”
Bunnie Had to Grieve Alone
Evan asked Jelly Roll a pointed question, and for a moment, we wondered if that’s when Jelly Roll was going to drop the bombshell about his broken promise to Bunnie. Evan asked, “Is it hard for you to be present when your family needs you because you’re so busy right now?”
As usual, Jelly Roll was brutally honest. He confessed, “You know, I felt so bad my wife was having to grieve alone.”
Jelly Roll called his massive success “this thing,” saying, “It’s just hard” to stop it when it gets going. But he did reassure Evan.
Jelly Roll said he and his family “spend a lot of time together.” He was planning to take them “out of town” that week, hopefully for a much-needed break.
Next, Evan got into the ACM Awards with Jelly Roll. At this year’s ACMs, Jelly Roll brought the house down with his performance of “Liar.” Is the name of that song a theme, and does it have anything to do with Jelly Roll’s broken promise?
Evan asked if the sound of “Liar” is where Jelly Roll’s “new music is headed?” Jelly Roll said, “A little bit,” but he was still “all over the place.”
Evan’s next question was, “So, what are we going to learn about you in your upcoming music that we don’t already know?”
Jelly confessed, “There’s a lot of storytelling” on his new album, and he added that he has “never been more inspired” to write new music.
Jelly Roll Exposed His Sobriety Journey
Evan also wanted to know about Jelly Roll’s public health journey in 2024. Jelly Roll made some shocking confessions about “what keeps him sober.”
Jelly Roll claimed that he doesn’t indulge in adult beverages as much as he used to, but he also revealed something that he says “gets [him] in trouble… all the time.”
The issue is Jelly Roll’s “stance” on legal substances like CBD and THC. He understands that some people in recovery refuse to take any substances because they think it will set them back down a dangerous path. For Jelly Roll, the reality is different.
He told Evan that his “stance… will always be the same.” He believes that some legal substances have helped him with his “anxiety” and also helped keep him “sober.”
After Evan and Jelly Roll joked about “whose DMs are worse” on social media, Jelly Roll dove into a personal topic and, as Taste of Country put it, the promise to his wife that Jelly Roll “struggled” with.
Jelly Roll eased into this conversation by confessing that he and Bunnie “don’t live in that world of unnecessary jealousy.” Of course, he was referring to his and Bunnie’s so-called “open relationship.”
Jelly Roll Revealed His Broken Promise
Jelly Roll sweetly revealed, “I love her, she loves me, I know that’s my person.” Then, he brought up a recent incident that created a lot of negative feedback for Bunnie online.
The incident was Bunnie calling “metalcore artist” Chris Motionless her “hall pass.” Even though Jelly Roll thought it was “so funny,” he realized it turned into a big bad thing for Bunnie. Then, he dropped a bombshell on Evan, which might be a new confession from Jelly Roll.
Jelly Roll explained to Evan that he’s got two best friends. Of course, Bunnie is one of them. The other guy is someone Jelly Roll has known for “20-some years,” a fellow rapper from Tennessee named Struggle Jennings.
It’s great to have two best friends in life, but Jelly Roll shockingly admitted he had a “problem” once, making him reconsider if Bunnie was indeed a “best friend.”
Jelly Roll revealed he was “talking to my wife, and I was afraid to say something to her.” He truly believed that he was breaking a promise to Bunnie because Jelly Roll knew he would have no problem talking about this with his other best friend, Struggle.
This problem was so serious for Jelly Roll that he thought, “Is that really my best friend?” The problem for Jelly Roll was admitting to his wife, one of his best friends, that he found other women attractive.
He explained to Evan, “If me and Struggle see a pretty girl, we would acknowledge it as two men” saying, “That girl’s beautiful.” It got complicated for Jelly Roll to be as open with Bunnie, so he made a shocking decision.
Jelly Roll told Evan that he now does the “same thing” with Bunnie. Ever since, they have been “truly best friends” and husband and wife.
He explained to Evan, “She’s going to find other men attractive… I’m going to find women attractive.” Jelly Roll believes that their “honesty and vulnerability” make their marriage special and “cool.”
