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Bunnie Xo said she “changed my mind” about welcoming children of her own because of her stepdaughter.
The Dumb Blonde podcast host caught up with TODAY’s Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones on Wednesday (February 18). She spoke about her newly-released memoir, Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic, and stories about her life and her family. Bunnie Xo, 46, and her husband, three-time Grammy winner Jelly Roll, 41, hope to grow their family by welcoming twins via surrogate. The babies would join big siblings Bailee Ann, 17, and Noah Buddy, 9, Jelly Roll’s two children from previous relationships. Jones brought up Bunnie Xo’s role as a stepmother, and Bush Hager noted that Bunnie didn’t always want children of her own, but she changed her mind later in life.
“When I met Bailee, I was looking at a younger version of me,” Bunnie Xo, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, said on TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle. “Our lives are so parallel with the addict moms, just in and out of our live. She is so independent and so headstrong and so tenacious. When I saw her, I was like, ‘this is me.’ And she deserves the chance I didn’t get. …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, because we were running from becoming adults for so long. And it was all because we wanted to give Bailee a chance.
“I have changed my mind because raising Bailee, she is 18, about to go to college. She’s going to be 18 in May. But still, it’s like she is right there knocking on 18’s door,” Bunnie Xo continued. “She is going to college and she is just a 4.0 grade point average student. She’s such a good kid. And I’m like, you know what? We did that. I know that I didn’t birth her, but that’s my child. That’s my kid. I will ride for her until forever. And I was like, you know, my biggest fear of having children of my own was inflicting trauma on them, unwanted trauma on them, especially because of what I went through as a child. And being able to raise Bailee, I looked at her and I’m just like, ‘you know what, I might be able to do this with my own.’”
Bunnie Xo went on to talk about how she and Jelly Roll “saved each other,” the Beautifully Broken star's health and fitness journey, her faith, the obstacles she’s overcome in her past and more. Watch the full interview here.
Bunnie Xo and Jelly Roll “have a surrogate, the sweetest woman ever, and soon I’ll be starting my IVF stims,” she wrote in her book. “I’ve waited this long to have kids with someone I knew would be a great father—and to be able to make sure they have the best life. …With how much IVF has advanced over the years and with the help of the most unselfish woman willing to carry twins for us, we’ll be able to make our baby dreams come true.”
Jelly Roll is among the country artists nominated at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards, returning this spring to Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. See the list of country artists nominated here.
Like in years past, iHeartRadio is letting the fans choose the winners in several new and established categories. Fan voting will determine this year’s Favorite Broadway Debut, Favorite TikTok Dance, Favorite Debut Album, Best Lyrics, Best Music Video, Favorite On Screen, Favorite Tour Photographer, Favorite Soundtrack, Favorite Tour Style, Favorite Tour Tradition and Favorite K-pop Collab. Social voting begins on January 8th, and will close on March 19th at 11:59pm PT for all categories. Fans can vote by visiting iHeartRadio.com/awards.
Tune in to see which artists will take home an iHeartRadio Music Award on Thursday, March 26th at 8pm ET live (PT tape-delayed) on FOX. The show will also be broadcast on iHeartRadio stations across the country and on the iHeartRadio app.