More of a Mom Than Her Biological Mother: How Bunnie XO Stepped Up for Jelly Roll’s Daughter
A Family Tested by Addiction
Country superstar Jelly Roll has always been open about how becoming a father changed his life. When he learned while incarcerated that he had a daughter on the way, he vowed to turn things around. Today, he shares custody of his 16-year-old daughter Bailee Ann with his wife Bunnie XO, who has played a central role in raising her.
Bailee’s biological mother, Felicia Beckwith, has long battled addiction. During Jelly Roll’s emotional testimony to Congress on the fentanyl epidemic, he reflected on how deeply the crisis affects his family:
“I have a 15-year-old daughter whose mother is a drug addict. Every day I get to look in the eyes of a victim in my household of the effects of drugs. Every single day. And every single day I have to wonder if me and my wife, if today will be the day that I have to tell my daughter that her mother became part of the national statistic.”
Bailee Speaks Out
On Bunnie’s Dumb Blonde podcast last year, Bailee shared painful memories about her mother’s influence, including being pressured to try drugs in the parking lot of a dollar store.
“She was manipulative,” Bailee admitted. “It’s weird to say ‘Did the mom thing,’ but that’s the best way I can put it… it worked.”
Bailee says she spent months in a haze of substances — “never sober for a good 8-month period.”
A Turning Point With Bunnie
It was Bunnie and Jelly Roll who convinced Bailee to begin intensive therapy to get sober, a move that distanced her from her biological mother but ultimately saved her. Since then, Bunnie has filled the role that Felicia could not.
On TikTok, when a troll claimed Bailee was only her “stepdaughter,” Bunnie set the record straight:
“She might be my bonus baby, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m her mom too.
I fiercely protect this little girl, I teach her how to be a woman, I have always picked up the pieces of her broken heart alongside her dad…
Bailee calls me mom by choice. I never asked her to call me that. But through this journey called life, no matter what – that’s my kid. Our kid. And nothing any of you say will ever change that.”
Why Step-Parents Deserve Respect
The story resonates because it highlights the often overlooked role of step-parents — people who choose to step up when they don’t have to. In Bailee’s case, Bunnie has been a stabilizing, loving force through some of the hardest years of her life.
For many fans, it’s clear: Bunnie XO has been more of a mother to Bailee than her biological mother ever was.
And in the spirit of the moment, Brad Paisley’s “He Didn’t Have to Be” feels like the perfect soundtrack — a tribute to those who choose love, responsibility, and family even when the role isn’t theirs by birth.
