Country Star Jelly Roll Reveals Sad Family News

New age country music singer Jelly Roll, first and foremost a family man, is opening up about a deep struggle faced by his ex-wife as he steps up to parent their shared daughter.

The “Wild Ones” artist, whose given name is Jason Bradley DeFord, shares custody of his daughter Bailee Ann with his ex-wife Felicia. Bailee, now a teenager, was born in 2008 while Jelly Roll was still in prison for selling drugs.

“I think I lived an extremely selfish life until that moment,” the Grammy-nominated artist said in “Jelly Roll: Save Me,” a recent documentary on his rise to fame now on Hulu. “I think it was the first time in my whole life that I thought about putting somebody in front of me. In that moment, I made a promise with her that I had to be there for her. It’s almost like something clicked right then.”

At first, parenting while separated was hard on the singer, who was trying to break through as a hip-hop artist at the time. Felicia made it difficult on DeFord to see their daughter, requiring him to obtain a court order for visitation rights.

“Bailee’s mother made it hard on me at first. She made me go to court to even see her,” he said in the documentary, according to Life & Style. “I barely got to see her in the early years because I was traveling so much. I was a very less-than-present father. Not to mention, I was drinking myself to sleep every night.”

Things began bottoming out for Felicia after a 2016 diagnosis of fibromyalgia, turning her to painkillers and eventually a full-blown addiction to heroin.

“We’re proud of her, but it was really rough on Bailee. And it really helped me straighten my s–t out because ​it made me realize how important it was for me to be there for her,” Jelly Roll admitted in the film.

During the filming of “Save Me,” released in 2023, Bailee was happy to report that her mother was six years sober. However, she and the singer’s new wife Bunnie XO, revealed in a 2024 episode of the “Dumb Blonde” podcast that Felicia had released.

Bailee recalled the moment she found out while making running errands during her grandmother’s birthday party last summer.

“[Felicia] was like, ‘Yeah, we’re stopping by my dealer.’ And I was like, ‘That’s a bomb to drop what? We’re stopping by your dealer? What do you mean your f–king dealer?’” she explained. “That’s when she told me. She was like, ‘Yeah, I’ve been doing but it’s recreational.’ What the f–k? And I remember freaking out and then she like talked me down and she’s like, ‘It’s OK.’ And I’m like, ‘OK, whatever Mom.’”

She added that she became “so drunk” that night and was further inhibited by “a lot” of marijuana given to her by her mother.

Struggles aside, Bailee said she appreciates the sober time her mom pushed through, and hopes she will get there again.

“I had an extra, interesting, traumatic childhood. Bunnie did, my dad did. They’re important reasons for why my mom is in my life now and is sober,” Bailee said. “As a teenager, I’ve moved on. I’ve worked through my childhood. But that doesn’t make it go away. It made me who I am today.”