Jelly Roll has lost nearly 300 pounds over the past few years, and no one is prouder of him than his wife, Bunnie XO. In a new interview with Extra TV, Bunnie opened up about her husband’s journey, noting that between his weight loss and recent decision to shave his beard, his confidence is in a much different place.
“My husband just shaved his face for the first time in 20 years. In 20 years, he hasn’t been able to see his face,” Bunnie XO said. “And I think the coolest part of my husband shaving his face was getting to see him look in the mirror at himself and watching my husband fall in love with himself. Because battling weight and being called names every day and just living with that burden of the weight on him every day, that takes a toll on somebody’s self-esteem.”
The Dumb Blonde Podcast host added that Jelly Roll now gets compliments like “You look so hot,” “You look so healthy” and “I’m so proud of you,” which she shared “lifts his spirit so much.”
“So being able to see him look in that mirror and be like, ‘Yeah, I’m hot,’ it was cool,” she added. “It was really cool to see. I’m proud of him.”
Jelly Roll, who has gone from 540 lbs. to 265 lbs. throughout the course of his fitness journey, recently spoke to Men’s Health for a cover story and documentary about his transformation and opened up about how his heavier size affected his marriage, including the fact that he and Bunnie XO could no longer sleep in the same bed. “I was so fat that there came a moment in life that my wife and I had to put two queen beds beside each other because we couldn’t fit in a king bed anymore, I was just all over,” he said.
The Tennessee native’s weight also negatively impacted his physical relationship with his wife, as he was dealing with hormonal issues due to his size. “My testosterone level—and I’m cool to talk about this openly—was of a preteen boy,” Jelly Roll recalled. “When I went in there for the test, it was bad. Bad. The world opened up when I seen it on paper. I was like, That’s my testosterone level? I mean, dude, we’re talking a 57.”
Because of that, his sexual health suffered. “You can’t get it up without T,” he explained. “I was married to a smoke show, and I was still struggling.” Now, things have changed for the couple. “Now it’s a totally different thing. I’m chasing her around the house, you know what I’m saying?” Jelly Roll said with a laugh. “I’m like a teenage kid again [and] I’m like the Pink Panther: I bust out of every corner. And she opens the cabinet and I go, ‘Hi!’”
Along with his marriage, Jelly Roll’s weight loss has positively impacted nearly every aspect of his life. “It was never-ending sadness,” he explained of his previous mental state. “And anger. I was a prisoner to my own body. Dude, wiping my a— was a problem. Washing myself properly was a problem. Getting in cars. Every decision I made in life had to be based on my weight.”
