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Jelly Roll Reveals the Relationship Secrets That Helped Him Get Closer to Wife Bunnie Xo (Exclusive)

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Patrick T. Fallon / AFP

Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo are still blissfully in love after almost a decade of marriage — and their PDA-packed outing at Clive Davis’ pre-Grammys gala is clear proof.

“It’s always date night,” Jelly Roll, 41, exclusively told Luxury Handbag Shopping while walking the Beverly Hilton red carpet alongside his wife on Saturday, January 31. “You’d be surprised, when it’s really date night time, we’re super simple. We live on the farm, sneak into a movie or something.”

Jelly Roll (real name Jason DeFord) and wife Bunnie (real name Alyssa DeFord), 45, traded their traditional down-home dates for a glamorous night out ahead of the 2026 Grammys.

“We love Sweetgreen and getting fried chicken fingers,” Bunnie revealed of the pair’s usual date nights, where they’re dressed casually in hoodies and sweatpants. “Our excuse to not get dressed up.”

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Related: Jelly Roll's Wife Says He's Falling ‘In Love With Himself’ After Weight Loss

According to Jelly Roll, casual dates are one of the many things that have contributed to the pair’s lasting romance.

“The secret to success is, one, not taking anything too serious [and] having conversations,” the “Save Me” singer, who rocked a black suit with Jason of Beverly Hills chain, said on Saturday. “What happens in that bedroom matters a lot. Those private conversations — and that other stuff.”

Jelly Roll and Bunnie have also grown “closer” on a spiritual level.

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Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo kiss at Clive Davis’ Pre-Grammy Gala and Salute to Industry Icons Honoring Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman on Saturday, January 31. Amy Sussman/Getty Images

“Oh man, getting to sing ‘Hard Fought Hallelujah’ … will stick with me forever,” Jelly Roll told Us, referring to his September 2025 performance in Vatican City. “I’m probably the most proud of the last year [that] my relationship with God [is] getting closer. Getting closer with my wife, she’s had her own relationship with God. It’s even closer, so that’s what we’re with. That’s the theme of 2026.”

Jelly Roll and Bunnie have also recently been candid about the major changes to their intimate life, stemming from his impressive 200-pound weight loss.

“I feel like I’m a teenager, dog,” Jelly Roll told Men’s Health in a profile published last month. “I have the sex drive of a 17-year-old again. I’m f***ing pouncing on my wife. We’re having daytime sex again. It’s f***ing awesome. [Before the weight loss] my testosterone level — and I’m cool to talk about this openly — was of a preteen boy.”

Jelly Roll and Bunnie, who have been married since 2016, previously struggled in the bedroom because of the singer’s health issues.

“My sex life with my wife was horrible,” he said on Joe Rogan’s eponymous podcast last year. “I married a f***ing big-tittied, blond, beautiful woman, you know what I mean? I married the kind of woman that makes you smile when you cry. I couldn’t even get aroused, I was so big.”

Jelly Roll and Wife Bunnie XO Have 'Overcome So Much Together'

Related: Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO Have 'Overcome So Much Together'

Jelly Roll has been on a wellness journey since 2024, steadily losing over 200 pounds by overhauling his diet, incorporating frequent workouts and using the type 2 diabetes drug metformin.

“I went and got mental health therapy about my overeating,” he told Men’s Health earlier this year. “I started treating my food addiction like what it was: an addiction. Why did I treat cocaine a certain way? I went to meetings for cocaine and found a sponsor and detoxed off of it and s*** myself and went through real hard life-changing emotional choices to get off cocaine and codeine. I didn’t look at the food addiction differently. Once I started treating food like an addiction, it started changing everything for me.”

In addition to his weight loss progress, Jelly Roll also has musical accomplishments to celebrate — he secured three 2026 Grammy nominations ahead of the Sunday, February 1, ceremony.

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