Who Is Jelly Roll's Daughter, Bailee Ann?

This article contains mentions of addiction and suicide.

Since 2008, Bailee Ann DeFord has been taking her father, country singer Jelly Roll's life, by storm. She initiated incredible change in him, motivating him to turn away from crime and drug use so that he could perform as a father and attain the level of success he has enjoyed since leaping into the mainstream country music scene in 2021. Since reaching her teenage years, Bailee Ann has managed to step outside of her father's shadow and capture the eyes and hearts of the public with her unique and moving story. 

Like Jelly Roll, Bailee Ann DeFord comes from difficult beginnings and has suffered tragic hardship, loss, and betrayal in no small amount. However, she has displayed the determination necessary to emerge from these struggles as a happier, healthier, and unapologetic version of herself, sharing her passions, sense of humor, artistic abilities, and family values with the world. Bailee Ann has been open and honest about the circumstances of her life that have shaped her into the person she is today, and in this spirit of transparency, she has allowed fans to glean a clearer picture of her life and character.

Jelly Roll's early life was fraught with tragic moments and run-ins with the law, and by the age of 16, he had been convicted of aggravated robbery. This first stint in prison instilled in him a bitterness for the American prison system as he felt there was very little effort put into his rehabilitation despite his young age. This lack of support and investment in his future beyond his sentencing, as well as his own unwillingness to change, led to another string of bad decisions leading to more prison time.

Bailee Ann DeFord was born to Jelly Roll's former partner, Felicia Beckwith, while the soon-to-be celebrity served his second stint in prison for dealing drugs. The event had a monumental impact on the singer's life and served as a major catalyst for his reform. Jelly Roll commemorated that life-changing moment of becoming a father in an emotional Instagram post shared on Bailee Ann's 14th birthday. The photo features Jelly Roll and Bailee Ann hugging on the sidelines of a football game, and the accompanying caption contained heartwarming sentiments about how Bailee Ann's entrance into the world transformed him.

"On this very date 14 years ago, my life was changed," the singer wrote. "It's a day I'll never forget because it's a day I knew I had to do something to change my life. I was incarcerated when a guard knocked on my cell door and delivered the news that my daughter had been born. Right then I knew I wanted to be a better man and a good father."

Unfortunately, Jelly Roll was not the only one of Bailee Ann DeFord's parents to be involved with illicit substances. At Capitol Hill, the singer spoke about the opioid crisis in the United States, confessing that his ex-partner and Bailee Ann's mother, Felicia Beckwith, has an opioid addiction, and the family have to live in fear that she may not survive this pervasive epidemic. This unfortunate reality led to Bailee Ann being placed in a dangerous and unhealthy environment, which eventually led to Jelly Roll and his wife, Alisa DeFord, more commonly known as Bunnie XO, gaining full custody of Bailee Ann in 2017.

In February 2024, Bailee Ann opened up on her stepmother's podcast, "Dumb Blonde" entitled "Strength and Healing," about Felicia's relationship with drugs and how it affected her daughter's well-being throughout her childhood. Bailee Ann elaborated on the year 2020 when Felicia sought to rebuild their connection following her release from prison, stating that her mother seemed to be making an admirable recovery and was doing her best to be a participative parent. However, by early 2022, the progress made toward sobriety and a healthy mother-daughter relationship with Bailee Ann declined dramatically, ultimately leading the teenager down a dark path of drug use and emotional distress.

Bailee Ann explained on the podcast that in 2022, she spent the summer with her mother and other relatives, and it was at this point that Felicia began supplying her daughter with marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, and other illicit substances, which eventually led to another breakdown of trust between them.

Though Bailee Ann DeFord provided Jelly Roll with his first experiences in the realm of fatherhood, she is not his only child. In 2016, amid his intensifying relationship with Bunnie XO and custody struggles for Bailee Ann, Jelly Roll welcomed his son, Noah DeFord, to the world. Fans may note that Bailee Ann appears more frequently alongside her father and stepmother at events and in social media posts than her younger brother, but the reason is not a negative reflection of the DeFord family's affection for him. In fact, Noah is a beloved and valued member of the family, and his lack of visibility in the public eye arises from the deeply rooted respect Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO have for Noah's mother, Melisa, who wishes to limit her son's exposure to the public.

While Bailee Ann lives full-time with Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO, Noah's custodial parent is his mother, Melisa. Despite the different circumstances concerning custody, Jelly Roll puts immense effort into his relationships with both of his children. In an interview with Taste of Country, Jelly Roll explained how he and Melisa co-parent. "I try not to get in the way of what she [Melisa] is building over there, and I never want to step on her toes, with what she's doing with him, that I want to just respect that boundary," the singer said.

Bailee Ann has also proved to be a loving sister in 2023 when Bunnie XO received Melisa's permission to post a TikTok featuring Noah. In the interview-like video, Bunnie asked the then 6-year-old Noah who his favorite was between his father and sister, and Noah revealed that his sister was the winner in that competition.

Bunnie XO came into Bailee Ann DeFord's life just before her marriage to Jelly Roll in 2016. Though their relationship had a rocky start, Bunnie eventually succeeded in conveying her devotion to being a loving parental figure to Bailee Ann, and has expressed on her podcast that becoming a stepmother has made her evaluate her choices differently. "There's a little girl that came into my life, and she stole my heart ... and I want to be a better example for her, and I don't want her to feel like she ever has to sell her body to support herself," said Bunnie XO on "Dumb Blonde" in reference to her previous career in sex work.

Due to Bunnie XO's tragic past with the maternal figures in her life, she was able to empathize with Bailee Ann's struggles with her biological mother, Felicia Beckwith, while avoiding the painful mistakes that her own stepmother made with her. This attitude of patience, growth, and healthy boundaries allowed Bunnie and Bailee Ann to work through the lowest points in their relationship to achieve closeness and healing eventually.

Bailee Ann has publicly acknowledged her love for her stepmother on Instagram, captioning a picture of the pair with a message that read, "happy birthday to my fav person, my idol, my mentor, the most gorgeous woman i know, a kick ass business woman, my number one fan, and most importantly my mama."

Jelly Roll has been open about how his intense schedule as a musician impacted Bailee Ann DeFord's feelings about music. The hard work Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO poured into their relationship with Bailee Ann and their home life eventually allowed her to feel at peace with her living situation and relationship with both of them. However, Bailee Ann eventually felt a level of sadness when Jelly Roll's work took him away from home for long periods. 

Jelly Roll spoke on how complicated Bailee Ann's views of his career became in an interview with Taste of Country, saying, "I think for a while she loved it, but she was like maybe a little bitter about it because it took her father away from her ... So she looked at this thing like, 'This thing's really cool and it helps out family and all this other stuff, but this dude is also gone 200 days a year because of it.'"

Bailee Ann has since gained a more positive perspective about the scope of her father's career and has taken to the internet to share how much she admires him as a person and for his work. In an Instagram post from 2022, Bailee Ann captioned a selfie of her and Jelly Roll with, "just wanted to take a sec and let you and everyone else know how PROUD of you i am ... i don't think i tell you enough. i am so freaking proud of the human, artist, and father you are. what's meant to be will be, and it turns out your [sic] meant to be a star ... i love you daddy, always."

Bailee Ann DeFord's mental health suffered greatly due to the hardships of her childhood. She shared intimate details of her past with her stepmother, Bunnie XO, on the "Strength and Healing" episode of "Dumb Blonde." With gentle encouragement from Bunnie, Bailee Ann divulged some of her heartbreaking memories of spending her early years in an unsafe, unclean home, sleeping on a chair because she didn't have a bed, witnessing regular use of illicit substances, and by the age of 7, being left alone to care for her younger cousins in the absence of responsible adults.

Despite the depths of mistreatment that tarnished her early childhood, Bailee Ann's teenage years would prove to be even more traumatic and damaging to her physical, mental, and emotional health. In 2022, after Bailee Ann gave her biological mother the benefit of the doubt and consent to rebuild their relationship, Felicia Beckwith manipulated her daughter into using drugs and alcohol at the age of 14. Furthermore, Beckwith weaponized her position as Bailee Ann's biological mother to isolate her from her father, stepmother, and friends to create a codependent relationship. 

At this time, Bailee Ann's anxiety and depression skyrocketed, and her mental health deteriorated to such an extent that she attempted to take her own life. Thankfully, the attempt was non-fatal, and she was able to wake up the following day and address the gravity of her suffering with her stepmother, which was the first step toward getting the help she needed to recover. 

After addressing her suicide attempt with Bunnie XO, who was devastated to learn how close she had come to losing her stepdaughter, Bailee Ann DeFord began to receive treatment. Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO ultimately decided against sending Bailee Ann to a medical hospital. They opted instead for a program facilitated by Onsite Wellness Group, which is an organization of mental health professionals whose mission is to help people dealing with trauma, depression, isolation, and other difficulties to heal by utilizing and connecting with nature, art, and modern science. 

Bailee Ann expressed her profound appreciation for her experience with wilderness therapy and expressed on Bunnie XO's "Dumb Blonde" podcast that she "thrived" in that environment due to her love for the mountains and the impactful skills of the Onsite team. She spent nine weeks engaging with the program, unpacking years of hurt, mistreatment, shame, anger, sadness, and gaining the tools she needed to work through her trauma. She reflected on her time in the program, saying, "I did so much, like, real work and came out the other end so much happier ... on a spiritual and emotional and intellectual level. But, like, I also had a ball." 

It was during Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO's visit to Bailee Ann during the eighth week of her wilderness therapy that Bailee Ann explained the truth about the drug use and emotional manipulation of Felicia Beckwith that led to her mental health spiral. 

Like her father, Jelly Roll, Bailee Ann DeFord has displayed talent in songwriting. Around the age of 10, she approached Jelly Roll with a desire to write a song as a form of therapy, and he supported her efforts wholeheartedly. Jelly Roll credits Bailee Ann with creating the song "Tears Could Talk," which he recorded with her and included in his album "A Beautiful Disaster."

Since recording the song, Bailee Ann and Jelly Roll have performed it together live a handful of times, including one memorable occasion in July of 2023 when Jelly Roll performed in Alpharetta, Georgia. Jelly Roll addressed the crowd, letting them know that he is from Nashville, Tennessee, a mere two and a half hours away from where they had gathered for the performance that night. He mentioned that since they were so close to home, his family, including Bailee Ann, was able to be there with them. He then asked the crowd if Bailee Ann could join him on stage to perform her song, and he was met with resounding applause. Bailee Ann took her place beside Jelly Roll, and the pair performed "Tears Could Talk" together.

Jelly Roll's success in his music career is inextricably linked to his role as Bailee Ann DeFord's father. Her birth in 2008 was the wake-up call that motivated him to develop the commitment and strength that would be required of him to be a good dad and, eventually, a renowned artist. Despite the fact that Jelly Roll is much better known for being a talented musician than a committed father, he has expressed just how near and dear parenthood is to his heart, and how Bailee Ann truly transformed him as a person. The singer told People, "Being a father is so important to me, and just being as present as I can for her. I compare it to the Christian scripture of when Saul turned into Paul on the Damascus Road. It was kind of that moment for me."

Even in the midst of his greatest artistic and career accomplishments, Jelly Roll reminds his fans that all roads lead back to Bailee Ann. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight following the 2023 CMT Music Awards, he said, "I love you, Bailee Ann, so much. I thought about it the moment I walked off stage. You've changed my life in so many ways. But it's just unreal. This is bigger than just a single award for us. ... We came from nothing."

Bailee Ann DeFord is a teen who won't hesitate to be her most authentic self. In the spring of 2024, just days before her 16th birthday, her stepmother, Bunnie XO posted a TikTok to commemorate the moment when Bailee Ann picked up her first vehicle from the dealership. The podcaster declared, "You can have any car you want in the world that isn't above this budget, and this is what the child picked," while Bailee Ann can be seen nearly bouncing with anticipation behind her. The vehicle in question shocked fans just as much as it shocked Bunnie XO. Bailee Ann had set her heart on a pickup truck, more specifically, a GMC Sierra 1500. Not a common choice for a 16-year-old girl's first car, but Bailee Ann wasn't concerned about upholding the status quo since she was too excited about "whipping in every field."

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