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Jelly Roll confirmed he’s taking a step back from touring for at least a year to focus on his healing.
The Beautifully Broken artist, 41, announced the break during his recent performance in Salt Lake City, Utah. He told the audience, “this has truly been a lifetime experience for me. and in a couple of nights, I go to Colorado Springs and do my last show for a year or two. I’m fixing to take some time off and heal. Thank you for the opportunity.”
Jelly Roll has since played his final show before taking a break.
Though he didn’t specify what he’s healing from, Jelly Roll’s announcement arrives shortly after finalizing his divorce from ex-wife Bunnie Xo. The Grammy-winning artist and the Dumb Blonde podcast host, 46, called it quits after nearly a decade of marriage. The former couple met in 2015 (they were “so drawn” to one another, though Bunnie said it was “strictly platonic” at first). They said “I do” in a spontaneous wedding in August 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and returned to the same venue to renew their vows in August 2023.
Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo separated on May 9, and the singer-songwriter filed for divorce on May 18 in Williamson County, Tennessee, outside of Nashville. Bunnie opened up about the divorce on an episode of her podcast, which has since been deleted. During that episode, she reflected on the argument that led to the separation and divorce filing, clarified that “nobody cheated,” and more. Bunnie explained that she’s since deleted the Dumb Blonde episode because “I realized I just don’t want one of the hardest moments of my life to become a permanent headline. I don’t want to live in that, you know? I believe in being transparent with you guys and that’s never, ever, ever going to change. But I also believe that people deserve the space to heal, to evolve and to move forward.”
The “Need A Favor” artist directed people to the podcast episode when it was still available. He also addressed the divorce during a performance. Jelly Roll told the audience, in part, “me and my wife are best friends. We will always be best friends. We just got off the phone earlier today. Nobody cheated on nobody. She just did a whole podcast about it. You can go watch it. Every word of it is the truth. That will be my best friend forever.”
Jelly Roll is a father to Bailee Ann, 18, and Noah Buddy, 9, from previous relationships. He and Bunnie Xo planned to welcome twins via surrogate before their divorce (Bunnie said on the since-deleted episode of Dumb Blonde that she and her now-ex still plan to welcome a baby together amid her IVF journey). Bailee Ann recently said during a TikTok livestream, in part, “wait ’til y’all find out [what happened leading to the divorce]…the internet in totality is about to f***ing crumble the day I open my mouth.” Bunnie reacted in a since-deleted comment, “Nothing to clear up. She didn’t say anything lol ppl just wanna run with a narrative. …Love my baby forever.”
The divorce was finalized on July 17, ending the marriage after nearly a decade. Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo have since appeared to unfollow one another on social media.