We Can't Get Over Bunnie Xo's Sweet Bond With Stepdaughter Bailee Ann

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Bunnie Xo doesn't yet have biological children, but when she eloped with musician Jelly Roll in 2016, the couple gained primary custody of his daughter Bailee Ann DeFord. And from what Bunnie has said of her relationship with Bailee, their bond totally defies all the tired stereotypes we've heard about stepparent and stepchildren relationships. 

"When I met Bailee, I was looking at a younger version of me," she gushed on "Today with Jenna and Sheinelle" in February 2026. "Our lives are so parallel with the addict moms and just in and out of our life." Bunnie revealed that she'd been abandoned by her own mother when she was just three months old, and they didn't develop a real relationship until she was an adult. So getting custody of Bailee helped her to heal her own inner child. "When I saw her, I was like this is me and she deserves the chance I didn't get," she told the show hosts. 

In her memoir, "Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic," Bunnie said that she was able to drop bad habits from her life when she took on the stepmom role. "Nothing on this book tour gets me to tear up or choke up besides talking about her because she really just was such a catalyst in my husband and I having to grow up and become adults," Bunnie explained on "Today." She added that she'd previously had fears about having her own children, but those faded when she joined the DeFord family: "Being able to raise Bailee, I looked at her, and I am just like, 'You know what, I might be able to do this with my own.'"

In May 2026, Jelly Roll filed for divorce from Bunnie Xo. While the former couple and Bailee Ann have been navigating an incredibly tough time in the public eye, Bunnie's feelings about her daughter haven't changed. " ... she's going to have emotions," Bunnie explained on a June 2026 episode of the "Dumb Blonde" podcast, speaking of the grieving process that comes with divorce. "She's going to unfollow me on f*** Instagram and then she's going to text me back the next day and tell me to follow her back. That's just how it is right now." Still, Bunnie says, "That's my baby. I love her. If she wants to be mad at me for f*** two years, I'll deal with it. But when she's ready to come back, I will always be here for her."

In addition to the fact that Bailee has brought out the best in Bunnie and healed some of her own wounds, the podcast host also seems to be fiercely proud of her stepdaughter, and that's a feeling that no breakup can destroy. There's no doubt that, whatever the future holds, Bailee has played a huge, positive role in Bunnie Xo's complete transformation.