Jelly Roll has shed around 300 pounds since he started getting serious about his health. He recently opened up about his decision to lose weight while speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. For Jelly Roll, the decision came after he realized he had a reason to live.
“I had never planned on living,” Jelly Roll admits (per People), adding that his biggest goal was to have enough success so his children would be taken care of. “[I thought] when I die, at least my kids might be okay. and they won’t be ashamed of me.”
Jelly Roll was already having heart troubles and other physical concerns, ones he ignored for years because of his lack of desire to live.
“It felt like I’d already cheated the game. I’d had multiple heart issues,” Jelly Roll admits. “I was like, man, I should really start trying to figure this out. I could feel myself dying… I’d think, you know, it’ll probably go any day for me. You know what I mean? Like, my heart could quit any day. I could relapse and overdose.”
The Turning Point for Jelly Roll in His Decision to Get Healthy
With a wife, Bunnie Xo, plus his children, Bailee Ann and Noah, the Nashville native became aware when he was 39 years old that his time was fleeting if he didn’t take drastic measures.
“I started really considering taking the step to try to make a major change in my life,” the 41-year-old recalls. “I thought about it around my birthday, ‘cause I knew my next one was 40. I don’t think I’ve ever met a 500-pound 40-year-old.”
“I’ve been trying to lose this weight my whole life,” he adds, revealing that in 2022, his weight went between 480 and 560 lbs. “That’s how much I fluctuated in just a year, up and down.”
Jelly Roll resolved to get serious about his health, making a lifelong commitment to a different way of life.
“[I decided] to take a different approach,” the “Save Me” singer says. “I’m going to really take my time with it, and I’m going to think about what I’m doing and be intentional. I’m not going to let it be an emotional thing where you just jump up and go, ‘I’m going to go running today!’ I was like, ‘Let me figure this out.'”
Not that it’s easy. Unlike other addictions, Jelly Roll can’t abstain from food.
“It’s everywhere,” Jelly Roll reflects. “Not that crack isn’t everywher,e and heroin isn’t everywhere. There’s not heroin on this table. You know what I’m saying? There’s a cookie on here somewhere.”
Jelly Roll’s Invitation to Join the Grand Ole Opry
Elsewhere in his interview with Rogan, Jelly Roll was surprised by Craig Morgan, via video, with an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry.
“They invited me to be a member of the Opry. CRAIG MORGAN INVITED ME TO BE A MEMBER OF THE OPRY!!!!” Jelly Roll wrote on social media after receiving the invitation. “I’m honored beyond words and I can’t stop pinching myself. To everyone at the Opry, y’all are like family to me. To Craig Morgan, no matter how many times I say it I’ll never be able to tell you enough how much this has all meant to me.”
A healthier body, a soaring career, a hearty acceptance into country music is far more than Jelly Roll, who spent years in and out of prison, once dreamed for himself.
“I never would have thought I could have this kind of life,” he says.
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Photo: CMA / Acacia Evans