Jelly Roll‘s wife, Bunnie Xo, is opening up about her traumatic past. The mother and podcaster, whose real name is Alyssa DeFord, shares part of her story, ahead of her memoir, Stripped Down, available next year.
In a new social media post, Bunnie Xo shares several of her mugshots, from a time when her life was spiraling out of control.
“I had no idea the emotions it would unlock when I asked my lawyer [Michael A. Troiano] to pull all my mugshots for me. (We pulled them all for a really cool idea for merch for my book tour.) Looking at the first one, I just couldn’t believe what a baby I was. I was 19, already living on the streets of Vegas for five years, couch to couch, or with whatever boyfriend would let me stay. By then, I’d already lost three babies.
“As the pics go on, the eyes only get more sad, more broken and more intoxicated,” she continues. “The fact that I’m smiling in some of these will let you know just how disconnected I was from myself and my emotions. I look at those photos now and just want to hug that little girl. She thought surviving meant hyper-independence, fighting in the streets, barking loud and biting even harder.”
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Bunnie Xo Opens Up About Hitting An All-Time Low
Bunnie Xo’s last mugshot is particularly painful for her, especially reliving the memory of the events that sent her back to jail.
“The last one was when I was 26, arrested for soliciting an undercover cop on a casino floor,” Bunnie Xo writes. “I can still see the drugs in my skin, the bloodshot eyes, the hollow look that comes when you’ve stopped caring if you wake up tomorrow. I was deep in addiction, lost in survival mode. Add in a splash of perpetual victim mentality and it was a recipe for disaster. But, I got sick. Sick of humiliating myself, sick of always having to start over and sick of who I was as a human. I had to stop pointing fingers and realize, two things can be true: I was the problem and the solution.”
Through it all, Bunnie Xo found faith, faith that she still relies on today.
“But, even when I didn’t deserve it, God kept pulling me out of the fire,” Bunnie Xo writes. “Every overdose that didn’t take me, every time I inserted myself in harm’s way. He said, ‘No, there’s still work for you to do, and what’s tea for them will be testimony for you.’
“I’m not ashamed of these photos,” she adds. “They remind me who I used to be, and how far grace has carried me. If you’re in your own rock-bottom season right now, I need you to know this- you can rebuild. You CAN rewrite your story and start believing in yourself. You are never too far gone for God to find you, love you, and lift you out. I’m still learning. I’m still healing, but one thing is for certain – if He could do it for me… He damn sure can do it for you too.
Bunnie Xo’s Stripped Down book will be available on February 10, 2026.