Country star Jelly Roll and his wife Bunnie XO are very public about how they have turned their lives around, exorcising their demons to become good Christians.
But some of the inner circle who surround them are bad news, with several issued restraining orders against them for abusing women and one of the country star’s crew members recently convicted of abduction and strangulation.
The couple — whose real names are Jason and Alisa DeFord — have built a multimillion-dollar career on their powerful story of redemption, with Grammy winner Jelly, 41, rising from a troubled past as a felon to become a chart-topping artist and advocate for second chances.
“I was a horrible human for decades, and to just be able to turn that around and give a message in the music and help people … is very indicative of where I came from and how important it is to me to always reach back,” he told Fox News Digital at the 2023 County Music Awards.
Bunnie, a former sex worker and recovering drug addict who is now a podcast host, has also been open about her criminal history, posting her past mugshots on social media ahead of a book tour last year.
“I’m not ashamed of these photos,” Bunnie XO wrote in a caption alongside the pictures. “They remind me who I used to be, & how far grace has carried me.”
However, multiple sources who spoke to The Post claim the pairs’ redemption narrative is being threatened by “violent thugs” in their inner circles who have collectively racked up dozens of charges and “make bad things happen.”
However, there is no suggestion Jelly Roll or Bunnie were involved in any of the alleged incidents involving their friends or associates.
Among them is Quantez Demar Wells who claims he’s been one of Jelly Roll’s crew members for more than a decade, posting numerous pictures of them together and backstage.
He was incarcerated in October 2025 on charges including strangulation and abduction, according to records reviewed by The Post.
“We been rollin’ for over 10 years,” Wells claimed in a picture of himself with Jelly Roll in October 2024.
Wells’ Instagram page is a mix of media showing him and Jelly Roll on tour, along with videos of various women violently beating each other. He has an extensive criminal history dating back years, including for aggravated assault.
One woman who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Post she was in a relationship with Frank Lombardo, 43, until late 2024. He is the ex-husband of Bunnie, who he still calls a “great friend”.
The source alleges that while together, Lombardo subjected her to repeated violence, including strangulation that left her unconscious.
During one such incident in December 2023, the victim and a neighbor who witnessed the commotion both called 911, according to a police report obtained by The Post.
Lombardo was arrested and taken to jail where he was charged with domestic battery by strangulation.
“It should be noted that while en route to the jail, Frankie stated that he should’ve beat her ass, beat the s**t out of her, and beat the dog s**t out of her,” the police officer said in the report.
According to the report, Lombardo also allegedly threatened to “have his people destroy (the victim).”
The case was dismissed in 2024. Lombardo has in recent weeks posted a video on Tik Tok denying the claims made by his ex. In several other videos, he refers to Bunnie as “the boss” – while she often talks about their ongoing close friendship on her podcast where he uses the alias “Paulie”.
“I am not a thug and I’m not violent,” Lombardo wrote alongside one video. “All of these allegations are completely false.”
Former porn star Jenna Jameson took aim at the couple, alleging in an interview with The Post that they “run with evil criminals,” citing their alleged support of her ex-wife, Jessi Lawless – with whom she had a contentious divorce.
Lawless — who has previously been slapped with charges including domestic battery, strangulation and stalking — is often photographed with Bunnie XO and recently boasted in a TikTok video that she beat a woman so badly she was bleeding “like a faucet”.
“I had to wipe up blood all over the hotel room,” Lawless said in a video posted on Tik Tok last month.
“Did I get on the internet and talk about punching my girlfriend in the face? Yep.”
She previously told her viewers in another clip: “By nature I’m a violent person”.
Lawless has regularly been mentioned and appeared on Bunnie’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast and attended Jelly Roll’s show with the crew.
“I love Jessi. She gets such a bad rap online,” Bunnie said in a 2025 episode.
“Deep down inside I see the good in Jessi and Jessi is a sweetheart and I will stand on that forever. I know what’s being said about her isn’t true.”
In a February 2023 episode of “Dumb Blonde” titled “Jessi Lawless: Born Lawless,” the description was highly complimentary and described Jessi as “our hero”.
Lawless has previously discussed her run-ins with the law.
“Yeah, I was charged with domestic violence and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 2010,” she said in a now-deleted Tik Tok video, NewsWeek reported.
“And yeah, I picked her up by her throat and I slammed her on the ground.
The spotlight on Jelly Roll’s associates was partly prompted by outspoken comedian and influencer Nicole Arbour,
She claims she fell out with Jelly and Bunnie over a planned appearance on the “Dumb Blonde” podcast.
Since then she has accused Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO of intimidation and threatening behavior, including at a charity event in Nashville earlier this year.
It came after Arbour posted a clip titled “WOW. Look at the difference of Jellyroll on camera Vs off on February 21” on her social platforms.
In the secretly recorded video, Jelly Roll appears to be seen and heard speaking candidly to a few men in an informal setting, at one point declaring “Jelly hasn’t changed”.
“I’m going to shoot everything I see about that guy. F—k him. And his mamma and his daddy,” he continues, also using the “n” word.
It is unclear who he was referring to in the clip.
The footage appears to show Jelly Roll discussing something called “Operation Infiltration,” in which he also claims: “My wife is a f—ing savage gangster bitch that sold p—y, dude, she will clear somebody out.”
A music industry source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Post he was at an afterparty with Arbour in 2021 when Jellyroll approached her and allegedly threatened her.
“It was at a charity event for families of wounded soldier and first responders.
“He was being a d—head. Really aggressive. He wanted Nicole gone and told her he could have people down there in minutes to ‘sort her out.’ I heard him say it. The people running the party told Nicole they would remove Jelly, but she decided to just leave instead.
“I know a lot of people don’t like him in the industry. He has a very bad reputation.”
Arbour’s complaints against Jelly Roll have been reported to two Tennessee police departments, however both declined to bring any charges as a result of them.
“Save Me” singer Jelly has been open about his criminal past, revealing in his 2023 documentary he was incarcerated roughly 40 times, with his most serious offense — aggravated robbery — occurring at age 16.
In February this year, singer for the group Bad Wolves, Thomas Cummings — whose stage name is Tommy Vext — thanked Jellyroll for supporting him through hard times in a post on social media, highlighting their longstanding friendship.
Cummings has had multiple domestic violence restraining orders and orders of protection against him. In 2020, an ex-girlfriend accused Cummings of multiple incidents of physical abuse, including striking, choking, and threatening behavior.
“In addition to these incidents, [Cummings] has threatened to have [the victim] killed, ‘send people after’ her, …and otherwise ‘delete’ her,” the court filing read, according to reports.
“[Cummings] has also left disparaging comments on [the victim’s] Instagram account, which is visible to her clients, potential Clients and business partners, and fans.”
A California court granted a two-year domestic violence restraining order at the time and barred Cummings from making disparaging posts about his ex.
Cummings denied the allegations, calling them false, but the court still issued the order, documents viewed by The Post show. However, no convictions were made as a result of this case.
“Even when I was cancelled you donated to my Gofundme and gave me a platform to speak,” Cummings wrote alongside a photo on Instagram of himself with Jellyroll and Bunnie at her book launch in February this year.
“Even standing on stage in the sold out ground you called me out and said I was one of the greatest rock singers alive. Today I am officially uncancelled and back.”
In a 2024 interview with GQ, Jelly Roll described Nashville rapper Haystak — a convicted sex offender — as his longtime career inspiration and collaborator.
In 2014, Haystak, whose real name is Jason Winfree, was arrested on a felony charge of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and jailed.
According to police allegations cited by local media, Winfree allegedly grabbed and tried to force himself on a woman backstage during a concert in Boone, Iowa. He was later found guilty by a judge and convicted of the crime.
The arrest renewed scrutiny of earlier accusations against him. He was charged with statutory rape charge in 2004. And in 2006 he was convicted of assault and fear of bodily injury and was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days of supervised probation. However, he still went on to record various projects with Jelly Roll.
Reps for Jelly Roll declined to comment for this story.
Since Jelly Roll turned his life around, he has spoken frequently about faith and transformation, crediting programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and a Christian initiative called Jericho.
In December 2025, Bill Lee granted the Nashville native a full pardon for his convictions.
“His story is remarkable, and it’s a redemptive, powerful story,” Lee said at the time.
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