Podcast host Bunnie Xo says she is pressing ahead with plans to have a baby even after finalizing her divorce from country singer Jelly Roll, and she plans to write about the journey in her next book.

Bunnie Xo, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, sat down on Today with Jenna & Sheinelle just weeks after the couple's divorce became final and made the declaration plainly. She still wants to be a mother. She described the end of her nearly ten-year marriage as "beautifully tragic" but said she is looking forward, not back.

The interview caps a turbulent stretch for the 41-year-old singer and his ex-wife. In February, the pair announced plans to welcome twins through surrogacy after Bunnie had already started IVF egg retrieval. By May, Jelly Roll, born Jason DeFord, filed for divorce in Tennessee, citing irreconcilable differences. By June, Bunnie was telling fans the split was real but insisting the baby plan was still on.

From twin announcements to divorce papers in three months

The speed of the reversal is striking. Bunnie wrote in February that the couple had spent a decade healing and were "finally stable financially and somewhat emotionally", stable enough, she said, to grow their family. She revealed she had begun IVF treatments to retrieve her eggs, and the couple publicly discussed welcoming twins via surrogacy.

Three months later, Jelly Roll listed May 9 as the date of separation and filed for divorce on May 18, citing irreconcilable differences. On her podcast, Bunnie later said communication between them had broken down over the prior year and a half, and she felt she loved him more than he loved her. She also disclosed that the couple endured multiple failed IVF cycles and miscarriages that left her emotionally, spiritually, and physically drained.

When the separation became public in June, Bunnie struck a defiant tone. "We're still having a baby," she told fans. "We have been the most unconventional couple that you guys have ever encountered. We're going to co-parent together."

Jelly Roll's 18-year-old daughter, Bailee Ann, has also spoken publicly about the split. She expressed her own frustration with the fallout in blunt terms. Jelly Roll also has a nine-year-old son, Noah Buddy, from a previous relationship.

Bunnie says the baby journey will fill her next book

On the Today appearance, Bunnie confirmed the plan has not changed, only the marriage has.

"So I definitely still want to have a baby. And that's going to be one of the newest chapters of my next book, and I can't wait for you guys to read about it because it's been one h*** of a journey, let me tell you."

She did not say whether Jelly Roll is still involved in the baby plan or whether she intends to pursue motherhood on her own. That question, perhaps the most obvious one, went unanswered during the interview.

Bunnie described herself as "thriving" and said she is "having the freaking time of my life." She acknowledged the pain of the divorce but framed it in terms of forward motion: "There's always a silver lining, there's always something better to look forward [to]."

As she and Jelly Roll had previously discussed their baby plans even after the divorce filing, the question of co-parenting an as-yet-unborn child with an ex-husband remains unresolved. No title, publisher, or release date for the upcoming book has been announced.

A decade of highs and lows ended fast

Bunnie and Jelly Roll married on August 31, 2016. They briefly separated in 2018 before reconciling, and they renewed their vows in 2023. From the outside, the renewal looked like a couple that had weathered the worst and come out stronger.

But Bunnie's podcast revelations painted a different picture. She described the emotional toll of repeated IVF failures and miscarriages, and she said the pressures of Jelly Roll's rising fame widened the distance between them. She also disclosed that early in their relationship, she worked as a high-end escort to fund their lifestyle and his music career, telling listeners, "I literally went on tour with him and was seeing clients just to fund our life at the time."

Infidelity allegations have also swirled around the split. Bailee Ann denied claims of infidelity after the divorce became final, pushing back against rumors that had circulated online.

Jelly Roll himself has not spoken publicly about the divorce in any statement included in the available reporting. His silence stands in contrast to Bunnie's willingness to discuss the breakup on television, on her Dumb Blonde podcast, and in written statements.

Celebrity breakups keep testing the "co-parenting" script

The Bunnie-Jelly Roll split follows a now-familiar pattern in celebrity culture: a public marriage, a public pregnancy announcement, a public divorce, and a public promise that everything will work out for the kids. Whether it does is another matter entirely. Other high-profile divorces have followed similar arcs, with optimistic statements at the start giving way to messier realities later.

Bunnie's case adds an unusual wrinkle: the baby she says she still wants does not yet exist. The surrogacy and IVF process she described in February has no publicly confirmed status. Whether embryos were created, whether a surrogate was selected, and whether Jelly Roll's involvement continues are all open questions she has not answered.

What she has answered, clearly and on national television, is that the divorce has not ended her desire to become a mother. On that point, she left no ambiguity.

Wanting a child is one of the most human instincts there is. But announcing it on a press tour, weeks after a divorce, with a book deal attached, is something else, and the audience watching will decide for themselves which part of the story matters most.