“He Had the Saddest Eyes in the Room”: Bunnie XO Recalls Meeting Jelly Roll for the First Time

As she continues her media tour in promotion of her brand new book, Stripped Down: Unfiltered & Unapologetic, Bunnie XO has reflected on the early days in her relationship with Jelly Roll in an insightful new interview on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show.

While chatting to Stern, Bunnie recalls the moment she first met Jelly, describing how she felt drawn to the ‘Need a Favor’ singer-songwriter's troubled demeanour.

She muses, “When I first met J, he had the saddest eyes in the room, so I was just like, “Oh, this is a project. I love a good project,” so I was instantly drawn to him, and then when he was a d***, I was like, “Oh, this is even better.” I was like, “I've got my hands full with this guy,” but he didn't bow to me, and that's what I appreciated about him”.

Jelly has often underlined his immense gratitude to Bunnie for how, when she first entered his life, she made it clear she would do everything in her power to help him get custody of his daughter, Bailee, regardless of where their relationship ended up.

Stern expresses his disbelief at how the couple made it through Jelly's infidelity, “I couldn't believe the marriage survived. You gave him money, you helped him set up a house, a home, so his daughter could live safely and well, and you must have said to yourself, “I am doing everything for Jelly Roll possible, and he's still betraying me.” Do you carry a sense of, “I love him, but I can never fully trust him?””

The host of the popular Dumb Blonde Podcast goes on, “I want to be clear. When we went through that entire situation, I had to look inside myself also and be like, “Why am I attracting these men because this seems to be a huge pattern in my life””.

Bunnie expands on the self-work this led to, “I needed to look at the baggage that I brought in from that abusive relationship and not that I'm making excuses for him, but most of the time when men cheat women want to point the finger. They just want to be like, “It's your fault. You did this. I'm perfect,” and I didn't wanna do that. I was like, “I really love this man,” and I know that I think God for second chances, because I am a second chance. I'm actually probably a sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth chance and I feel like they don't deserve third chances, but they do deserve a second chance, and I just knew that something was so special in my husband and I knew that he would become the man that he is today”.

Bunnie movingly concludes with a heartfelt message, “He just needed somebody to love him. He never really had somebody love him through all of his darkness and I never had that either and we found that in each other and was I hurt? Absolutely. It was one of the darkest times of my life. I even write about it in the book about how I thought about taking my life because I was just so devastated because I thought out of all people, he wouldn't have never done that to me, but it happened and I forgave him, and thank God I did, because look at who he is now. We're gonna ride this mo-fo out and me and my husband have just made a pact with each other that no matter what, we're just gonna ride this out”.

Bunnie and Jelly remain one of the most popular husband-and-wife duos in the country music world, with both serving as beacons of light for those who have suffered similar struggles, whether that's related to addiction, abuse or imprisonment.

Last week, Jelly released a sweet tribute to Bunnie, ‘Thorns’, with the Nashville native explaining alongside the initial snippet of the track, “Today we celebrate you, baby... A woman who spends her entire life celebrating everyone else. A woman who spends her every day encouraging and inspiring... A woman who stands up for and speaks for what’s right, even when it’s unpopular... A woman who is fearless... A woman who is bold... today we celebrate a woman that lifts other women up”.

The ‘Son of a Sinner’ singer-songwriter went on, “It is said that we overcome by the blood of the lamb and the power of our testimony. I am so glad to see this woman share her testimony with the world. Meeting this woman was arguably the most life-changing moment I ever had. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me and our little family, you truly are the rock of this household-you are the single human that turns this house into a home... I love you endlessly”.

Similarly, Bunnie remains Jelly's biggest fan and his No. 1 cheerleader. Following his momentous trio of GRAMMY wins earlier this month, for instance, Bunnie clapped back at critics of his faith-filled acceptance speech, rebuking their harsh judgement.

Despite the obstacles they've faced in both their personal journeys and their journey as a couple, they constantly seek to elevate others through various mediums, whether it's Jelly's music and prison-based philanthropy or Bunnie's new book and podcast.

Excitingly for the pair, Bunnie has shed light on their IVF journey in her memoir - which is out now - confirming they have picked out a surrogate for when the time comes. After a tumultuous period, this undoubtedly serves as welcome news for the duo.

For more on Bunnie XO , see below: