Jelly Roll Opens Up About Life on His 500-Acre Tennessee Farm — A Dream Fulfilled in Honor of His Late Father.
Country Star Jelly Roll and Wife Bunnie Share Peaceful Glimpse into Rural Life on Their Expansive New Property
Grammy-nominated country artist Jelly Roll may be known for selling out arenas and topping music charts, but when it comes to where he finds real joy, it’s not in the spotlight—it’s in the serenity of the Tennessee countryside.
In a heartfelt video shared by his wife Bunnie XO on social media, fans got an intimate tour of the couple’s newly purchased 500-acre farm in Tennessee. The clip begins with Jelly Roll pulling up in a UTV, his loyal dog by his side, and greeting fans with his signature grin: “It’s your boys,” he says, before inviting Bunnie in for a ride across their property.
As the camera rolls, viewers are treated to sweeping views of the lush landscape—miles of trees, a tranquil creek, and a large, newly constructed barn—all showcasing the quiet beauty of their rural retreat.
While this is the first visual tour fans have received, the farm has held deep meaning for Jelly Roll since he first announced the purchase in an emotional TikTok video last year. For him, buying the land was more than just acquiring property—it was a tribute to his late father, who once told him: “Buy land—it’s the one thing I regret not doing.”
Watch the tour below.
Watch on TikTok
In the video, Jelly Roll explained how owning land had always been his father’s dream, and making it a reality became one of the artist’s most personal goals. Now, thanks to the support of his loyal fanbase, he was finally able to fulfill that dream—not just for himself, but in honor of his father’s legacy.
“I came here today to pray over it. I came here today to vision-cast in it. I came here today to just walk barefooted in it,” he shared, visibly moved. “And most importantly, I came here today to pull this phone out of my pocket and look y’all in the eye and say, thank you, man.”
With this farm, Jelly Roll and Bunnie are embracing a lifestyle rooted in peace, nature, and family—a stark contrast to the chaos of fame. It’s a powerful reminder that, for many artists, true success is found in honoring where you come from
You can watch Jelly Roll’s emotional message to his fans in the video below.
Jelly Roll’s parents, Donna and Horace “Buddy” DeFord, influenced his love of music and inspired him.
The Whitsitt Chapel singer-songwriter, whose birth name is Jason Bradley DeFord, was born on Dec. 4, 1984. The family of three lived in Antioch, Tenn., where Buddy worked as a businessman in the meatpacking industry at the time.
However, Donna and Buddy eventually grew apart and divorced when Jelly Roll was 13 years old — the major change contributed to their son’s drug addiction and his decade-long strife with the state’s judicial system.
“Many time the police knocked on my mothers door looking for me, many night she went to sleep worried the phone would ring in the middle of the night and something would’ve happened bad,” he reflected in an emotional tribute to his mom on Facebook.
Of his troubled past, he said there were “thousands of times [Donna] accepted collect calls from a son in jail,” but since his 2009 prison release, Jelly Roll has changed his ways and embarked on a new chapter in his life.
Donna and Buddy were promoted to grandparents following the birth of Jelly Roll’s daughter, Bailee Ann, in 2008 and with the addition of Noah Buddy in 2016, whose namesake takes after his grandfather’s.
Sadly, Buddy died from cancer in March 2019, and the “Need a Favor” singer often honors his late father on social media, sharing throwback photos of him, Buddy and his kids.
As for Donna, she continues to be a constant presence in the singer’s life and career, whether by his side celebrating milestones or cheering him from afar.
Here’s everything to know about Jelly Roll’s parents — Donna and Horace “Buddy” DeFord — and their relationship with the country singer.
They raised Jelly Roll in a small town outside of Nashville
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