He made headlines (and raised a few eyebrows) at the recent Grammys when he told reporters that his upbringing made him apolitical—so where does Jelly Roll live, and how did he grow up? The rapper and country singer, also known by his real name, Jason DeFord, had a rough childhood in a rural area outside of Nashville, Tennessee, and he still resides near the iconic Music City.
After the recent awards ceremony—where he took home three Grammy awards—he said that no one should “care to hear [his] opinion” when it comes to politics, and elaborated on his fraught past, which includes stints in jail and struggles with sobriety.
Jelly Roll was pardoned by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee last December for his past convictions, including robbery and drug felonies for which he was incarcerated at ages 16 and 23, respectively. His work frequently references his troubled past and his journey towards sobriety. “When I first started doing this, I was just telling my story of my broken self,” the musician, now 41, recently said of his music career. “By the time I got through it, I realized that my story was the story of many. So now I’m not telling my story anymore. I’m getting to pull it right from the crevices of the people whose stories [have] never been told.”
The pardon may make it easier for Jelly Roll to expand his collection of homes; in a 2023 interview, he told Joe Rogan about a time when he lost out on a property investment because of his criminal record. “I'm at a place in life where I go to buy my dream home — guard-gated community, golf course,” he told the podcast host. “Everything’s going great. I’m like, ‘This ain’t gonna be real.’ They turn around and say, ‘No, the golf course won’t let a felon be a part of the community.'”
Still, DeFord has certainly come a long way since living through the troubles that creatively fuel him—these days, he has multiple notches in his real estate belt, including a 500-acre farm in his home state. Read on to learn more about Jelly Roll’s homes.
Nevada dwelling
Sin City has a special significance for Jelly Roll; it’s where he met—and tied the knot with—his wife of a decade, Dumb Blonde podcaster Bunnie XO, aka Alyssa DeFord. The pair eloped in Las Vegas in 2016, roughly a year after meeting backstage at one of Jelly Roll’s concerts. Details of their previous residences are unclear, but listing history indicates that in 2022, the couple paid $1.15 million for their home just outside the city, in Henderson, Nevada.
Tucked within a gated community, the 4,083-square-foot contemporary Mediterranean-style house was built in 2005, with five bedrooms and five bathrooms. The residence opened into a foyer lined with stone-tiled flooring. A winding staircase with a wrought iron railing led up to the primary suite, which had a private balcony, walk-in closets, and a spacious ensuite bathroom with a metallic soaking tub. Listing photos also showcase Bunnie XO’s Dumb Blonde recording studio. A swimming pool and spa, a detached casita, a covered patio, and a small lawn rounded out the quarter-acre plot.
Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO listed the property in the fall of 2024 for just under $1.3 million, but it ultimately sold for a slight loss at $1.075 million a few months later.
Nashville home
The couple reportedly acquired a new house in Nashville in November 2023 and then pulled off quite the feat in finishing the home just in time for their Thanksgiving celebration. Bunnie XO shared photos of the dwelling’s living room with cardboard lining the floors, no furnishings, and bare walls, just five days before hosting for the holidays. They managed to complete the space in time, however, opting for blond hardwoods, a massive brown leather sectional, a cowhide rug, and a moody hue of forest green paint on the walls. Other sneak peeks of the dwelling have revealed a backyard pool and spa tucked amongst mature trees, a purple glam room, and a modern kitchen with a massive eat-in island. It appears that Jelly Roll still maintains this residence.
Tennessee farm
Around the time they sold their Nevada property in 2024, the couple bought a 500-acre farm outside of Nashville. Jelly Roll opened up in an Instagram post about what the purchase meant to him, describing visits to his uncle’s farm as a child as a catalyst for the dream to one day do the same. “I'll never forget, we left there [once] when I was probably 12 years old,” the singer recalled in the video, “and I talked to my father about it, said, 'How come we never got a farm?' He said, ‘Son, it's probably one of the mistakes I regret the most, is that I didn't buy dirt.… If you don't listen to no advice from me, buy dirt. Go get you some land.’” As seen in another video shared by Bunnie XO, the plot features forested areas, creeks, trails, and open fields.
In November 2025, Jelly Roll shared a vlog giving a tour of his newly completed home on the property, which he calls his “barn-dominium.” The contemporary-style home is fairly compact—a choice Jelly Roll said he wanted to create a homey feel. “I wanted it to feel like somewhere you would come spend a weekend with the kids and y'all would, you know, wake up and cook breakfast together,” he explained in the YouTube video. The home has a spacious wood-paneled garage stocked with ATVs, a fireplace-warmed living room furnished with black leather recliners, and an all-black eat-in kitchen. The first floor also has two guest bedrooms, a bathroom, and a door leading out to a backyard patio and a fire pit with a forest view. On the upper level, the primary bedroom has a wood-paneled ceiling, a walk-in closet, and a bathroom with a roomy glass-walled shower.