Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO may have finalized one of country music’s friendliest divorces, but the Tennessee podcaster just reopened one of the ugliest wounds from their marriage.
During Monday’s episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast, Bunnie spoke with Denise Richards about the emotional destruction left behind by infidelity. She never identified Jelly Roll by name, but after his public cheating confession and her own memoir revelations, there was little mystery surrounding the betrayal.
“When I had gone through a situation with an affair, it’s not the act that hurts you,” the 46-year-old explained. “It’s the lies. It’s just, like, whiplash.”
Bunnie said discovering the truth leaves the betrayed partner feeling humiliated and isolated because everyone else seemingly knew first.
“Nobody ever wants to be the [expletive] last to know,” she said, describing it as “a different kind of hurt.”
The marriage survived that affair. The damage apparently did not.
Bunnie XO Says Betrayal Trauma Changes How You Trust
“Betrayal trauma literally rewires your brain to not trust people,” Bunnie said. She added that the experience can leave someone feeling “disgusting” long after the physical act ends.
Her comments quickly revived debate on X, where some users questioned whether Jelly Roll’s past infidelity had contributed more to the divorce than the former couple publicly acknowledged.
One commenter accused the singer of choosing divorce rather than risking another cheating scandal during his highly publicized personal and spiritual transformation. Others showed little sympathy for either side or mocked the former couple’s complicated history.
Those reactions remain speculation. Bunnie and Jelly Roll have repeatedly maintained that nobody cheated during the breakup that ended their marriage this year.
Jelly Roll publicly admitted in October 2025 that he had been unfaithful earlier in their relationship, calling it one of the worst moments of his adult life. He said he later worked hard to repair the damage.
The couple reconciled and renewed their vows in 2023. Bunnie subsequently revealed in her memoir, Stripped Down, that discovering the affair pushed her into an extremely dark period before she decided to continue moving forward.
Their repaired marriage lasted several more years, but they separated in May 2026 and finalized their divorce in July. Both have continued speaking positively about each other, while their agreement reportedly discourages public trash-talking.
Bunnie may insist there is no hidden divorce scandal left to uncover. Her latest admission nevertheless made one thing painfully clear: the paperwork ended the marriage, but it did not erase the whiplash.
