Bunnie XO Talks About The 1st Time She Met Jelly Roll In Las Vegas

A celebrity love story that I love so much is that of Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO. Like Jelly’s music, it just has such a realness to it. It feels like something the average person can attain, and I don’t know, I just really love it. And listen, doing this job, I know I’m not the only person who’s been captivated by their story. Their journey through life has been marked with ups and downs, lots of personal growth, and success stories in both their personal and professional lives. Through their ups and downs, the two have been the biggest of cheerleaders for one another’s success.

Jelly, even recently, announced that the two would like to try and have a baby soon.

Bunnie XO, who on top of being a model, has also built a big name in the podcasting world. Her brand, like her husband, has been all about being unapologetically herself. Her fans eat it up, as they should. She’s really great at sharing moments of her life through her podcast, and especially through her social media platforms. Bunnie XO also recently opened up with PEOPLE about the first time she laid eyes on Jelly Roll.

It was here, in Las Vegas. The year was 2015 and Jelly had been making quite the name for himself on the east coast. However, he still was fairly unfamiliar on this side of the country. The two met at the iconic Las Vegas Country Saloon when he was the opening act for the Moonshine Bandits. In fact, Bunnie XO was at that specific show to see the Moonshine Bandits. Thankfully, she got there early enough to catch Jelly’s opening act.

She recalls to PEOPLE that the crowd was almost non-existent during Jelly’s time on stage, but watching him perform made her think to herself, “What is THIS? What is this man? This big Southern boy.”

And because there were so few people at the show, she was able to meet him quite easily, she recalls. The two hit it off immediately and before you knew it, they were married the next year.

All love stories have their unique challenges, and Jelly and Bunnie’s is no exception. Over the years, the two have openly spoken about their short breakup in 2018. Thankfully, the time apart ultimately helped them build a stronger relationship.

“… It ain’t been all Hallmark cards and Care Bears.” Jelly told the folks at PEOPLE, but reminded them that every challenge was worth it, because of where they are today.

Jelly Roll has become a country music sensation, becoming a superstar in Nashville and beyond, topping the country charts, winning his first CMA award, and being nominated for a couple of GRAMMY Awards, one in the all-genre New Artist category and the other in the Best Country Duo/Group for his collaboration "Save Me" with Lainey Wilson.

Everyone, including his fellow country stars, is talking about him. Luke Bryan told us his thoughts on Jelly when we interviewed him recently. He said, "Jelly Roll and I have been at some events together. We hung out at a backstage festival a month and a half ago briefly. I think what Jelly Roll embodies and represents is something really, really special. When I'm around him, the way he holds himself. You are just drawn to him. He's such a star in that role."

Bryan added, "Every time I'm around the guy, he's just so intriguing and interesting. I think his form of country music speaks to a potentially forgotten box of people in country music, and he's able to really speak to that crowd."

He continued, "What makes him special is, as a fan, you get to see into his world, which is a world of a lot of people, and I think that's what you have to do to rise where he has risen. To speak to people and tell your story honestly. He tells his story the good, the bad, and the ugly, and I think that's what people love about him. You know, life's journey is not all squeaky, clean, and beautiful, with no bumps in the road. I think he lets a lot of people not feel alone."

It's been a whirlwind of a year for the native Nashvillian. Jelly took fan questions on his Insta Stories not long ago and touched on several subjects, including his mental health, after wrapping his headlining "Backroad Baptism Tour" and why he is going without his phone through the end of the year.

When a fan asked about his mental health, Jelly replied, "This is probably too honest, but exhausted and unstable. Definitely when I get through the holidays, and I've got a lot of stuff to do between now and the holidays, but when I get through the holidays, I really need to take some personal time."

Jelly Roll talked about the importance of therapy in a recent interview on Comedy Central's The Daily Show. Jelly described himself as an "old-school Southern man." He noted that his relationship with God and faith are also key parts of his evolution.

Jelly added that he believes in "God and therapy." He said he is "extremely open-minded" in his "old age." Jelly offered, "I quit searching to be happy, and I started searching to be useful." That's when everything changed for him, and he strives to "be a man of service" and to help people.

We all know his country hit songs like "Son of A Sinner," "Need A Favor," and the duet remix of his song "Save Me" with Lainey Wilson. As we continued celebrating this unique and gracious artist, we thought we would get familiar with some of his songs before he made such a significant mark in country music.

This hard rock song was released two years ago from his "Ballads of the Broken" album. That album is the first major-label album by Jelly Roll. "Dead Man Walking," released as a single, reached number one on the US Mainstream Rock chart. The album also included "Son of a Sinner," his first country chart-topper.

See that video here.

This song comes from his 2015 album, "Therapeutic Music 5." The song talks about smoking weed and being in jail. In the song, Jelly does a lot of rapping along with singing the chorus, which includes the lyrics, "I hope that Heaven has a smoking section/ I hope that Heaven has a smoking section/ When it's said and done and we're all gone/ I hope they got a place that we can blow / I hope that Heaven has a smoking section." Jelly's mom appears in the music video.

This song came off of Jelly's 2017 album, "Addiction Kills." The music video for the song has over 53 million views and features his wife, Bunnie Xo. The couple were married in 2016. The song and video include a lot of swear words, sexual situations, and guns.

See that video here.

This song also comes from his album, "Addiction Kills." The music video for the song starts with Jelly in a chair getting his hair cut and shaved. Much of the music video was filmed in Sally's Famous Kitchen in Jelly's home neighborhood, a suburb of Nashville: Antioch.

See that video here.