Bunnie XO
If ever there was someone whose marriage advice was considered invaluable, it’s Dolly Parton.
The country veteran and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee has been recording and releasing as a solo artist since 1967 – just one year after her marriage to the rarely-seen Carl Dean.
Together, the pair have been married for close to 60 years, though Dean has been known for his aversion to the spotlight. Having met in a laundromat on the day she moved to Nashville, only rarely do photographs of the pair emerge, and Parton has long said that Dean – a retired paver four years her senior – has only ever seen her perform live once.
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In a new interview with Bunnie Xo‘s Dumb Blonde podcast (itself a song title from Parton’s 1967 album Hello, I’m Dolly), the musical icon has offered up some of the secrets to their long-lasting relationship.
“He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny,” Parton explained. “Oh, he’s hilarious. And I think one of the things that’s made it last so long through the years is that we love each other [and] we respect each other, but we have a lot of fun.”
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“Anytime [there’s] too much tension going on, either one of us can like, find a joke about it to really break the tension, where we don’t let it go so far,” Parton continued, touching on their shared sense of humor. “We never fought back and forth. And I’m glad now that we never did, because once you start that, that becomes a lifetime thing.
“I’ve seen it with so many people, and I thought, ‘I ain’t ever starting that.’ I couldn’t bear to think that he’d say something I couldn’t take… because I’m a very sensitive person toward other people and myself.”
Parton’s comments are consistent with her previous offerings on the key to her long-lasting marriage, telling ET Canada in 2022 why she feels the pair have worked so long for close to 60 years.
“I like it when people say, ‘How did it last so long?’ I say, ‘I stay going,’” she explained. “You know, there’s a lot to be said about that. So we’re not in each other’s face all the time. He’s not in the business, so we have different interests, but yet we have the things we love to do together. So it was meant to be, I think. He was the one I was supposed to have and vice versa.”
One of the most refreshing things about Jelly Roll and wife Bunnie XO‘s relationship is how open the country couple have been about their struggles and strife. Whether it’s the singer’s battles with addiction and obesity, Bunnie’s scary misdiagnosed aneurysm earlier this year or her battles with anxiety and depression after getting sober, both have been an open book with their fans.
Now, on the latest episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast, Bunnie discussed her longtime battle with OCD. “You guys have heard me talk about it on the podcast numerous time, but let’s discuss obsessive compulsive disorder,” Bunnie, 44, said on the NSFW episode. “I know some people joke about being a little OCD, but as someone who’s actually living with OCD, I’ll be the first to tell you it’s not a laughing matter.”
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She added, “It isn’t just being tidy or organized. OCD is actually having disturbing, unwanted thoughts that cause you overwhelming anxiety because they just feel so wrong, and you really don’t wanna be thinking about them.” The Mayo Clinic defines OCD as a “pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears known as obsessions. These obsession lead yo to do repetitive behaviors, also called compulsions.” Those compulsions can become so pervasive that they interfere with daily activities and can cause distress.
Bunnie described her OCD in similar terms. “It’s also repetitive physical or mental behaviors you do to try to make the anxiety from those thoughts go away,” she said. “But that just doesn’t work in the long run, and they just keep coming back. The idea that OCD is only about handwashing and organization is a complete misconception. OCD can latch on to anything, but it often focuses on the things we care about most, our relationships, religious beliefs, our hobbies and passions in an attempt to make the distress from their unwanted thoughts go away.”
The podcaster said she calls her OCD traits her “rituals,” which can be “incredibly time-consuming and exhausting.”
It’s not the first time Bunny has discussed her OCD diagnosis. Back in August 2023, she wrote in an Instagram post, “When I started this tour I was soooo scared, because as you all kno, I battle severe anxiety. Sobriety opened up a whole Pandora’s box of anxiety, OCD & depression j never knew j had until I had to stop covering up all the pain w/ pills & alcohol. I didn’t kno how I would feel on the bus, in the crowds or even just traveling everyday again because I hadn’t done a full tour w/ the hubby since 2019.”
Bunnie XO is in proud wife mode after Jelly Roll scored his first-ever No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Beautifully Broken this week. Shortly after it was announced Monday (Oct. 21) that the country star had topped the U.S. ranking — beating out other competitive new releases from Rod Wave and Charli XCX […]
Bunnie XO is always supporting her man. The Dumb Blonde podcast host took to TikTok this week to share a sweet video in which her husband, Jelly Roll, is seen doing vocal warm-ups before a show. In the clip, Bunnie is rubbing the country superstar’s chest and giving him a hug while he does lip […]
Bunnie XO continues to be Jelly Roll’s muse! The Dumb Blonde podcast host took to TikTok to share a snippet of one of her husband’s unreleased love songs. “He wrote me a new song,” she captioned the video, which features scenes of the couple having fun and spending time together. “Woman, without you on my lips/ […]
The War and Treaty’s Michael Trotter Jr. is opening up about the rough journey that led him to where he is today. The duo is the latest guest on Bunnie XO‘s Dumb Blonde podcast, where Trotter shared his experience with gangs and family trauma.
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“Cleveland is not something I talk about often,” Trotter explained. “Growing up in Cleveland, I grew up in a strict Christian household, it was very cultish to me. Friday night sundown to Saturday night sundown. It’s nothing but God. You can’t do anything. You can’t watch TV, I couldn’t go play with friends, none of that stuff. It was just church, church. It really altered my life for a minute there.”
He continued, “It was a big contrast to what real life was. Friday to Sunday it was like, ‘Hallelujah, Jesus, Jesus’ and the rest of the week, we were living like s—.”
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The singer noted that in his faith, everyone was “putting on this faith and saying that they’re happy,” but divorce and drugs were prominent throughout the community. He started “rebelling” early in life, after dealing with abuse at the hands of his father, who was struggling with addiction. “I turned to the streets in Cleveland, had a strong gang life. The gang association is called Folks, and I had a cousin who was very high up in gang life in Cleveland. I had my little initiation and I started selling.”
Trotter shared that his gang activity started at age 11. “I got stabbed when I was 12, and I think that was the turning point,” he recalled. “I was laying in the streets of Cleveland, and my cousin had been killed, so my mom then was like, ‘We need to get out of Cleveland and get to D.C.’”
Over time, and through processing his PTSD, Trotter has grown through his trauma, forming The War and Treaty in 2014 with his wife, Tanya. Since then, thankfully, the husband-and-wife duo have grown into musical success. The War and Treaty were one of two country acts nominated in the Grammys’ best new artist category in 2024; the other was Jelly Roll, Bunnie XO’s husband. “The space we occupied was really important,” Michael previously told Billboard. “The two artists representing the genre were not representative of that genre at all, if we’re being completely transparent. You got Jelly Roll, a tatted-face rapper who can sing a little bit, and Mike and Tanya, these Black, overweight, gospel-trained singers. Country music is actively trying to attack the narrative it has created, and I’m proud to be part of that change.”
He may be the son of a sinner, but Jelly Roll‘s relationship with Bunnie XO is surprisingly pure — even when it comes to keeping things “spicy” between them. On the latest episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast posted Thursday (Aug. 22), the influencer addressed a question about how she and her country star maintain […]
Though 14-time CMA Award winner Miranda Lambert is gearing up to release her upcoming Sept. 13 album, Postcards From Texas — her first under her new deal with Republic Records — she’s also learning to relax. In an interview on Bunnie XO‘s Dumb Blonde podcast that arrived Monday (Aug. 19), Lambert opened up about how she’s learning to balance work with living life.
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The musician discussed how she and husband Brendan McLoughlin recently took two weeks off and traveled to Italy. “It was like a little panicky, but then once you settle into it, you really need to do it. You just don’t know you need to until you get the chance,” Lambert said.
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The past year has been a hectic one for Lambert, who concluded her Las Vegas residency last year. Earlier this year, she also inked her new label deal and is preparing for her new album release.
She also revealed, “I reached a pretty high level of burnout last summer and I didn’t realize what it was until I was like, I think this is what we call burnout, from just not taking a break or a long enough one. Just a couple of days at a time just wasn’t enough for the amount of busyness, and so I feel like we have to learn to balance. It’s really hard when you’re so driven, to like relax into doing nothing. If you don’t recharge, it’s like you’re only operating at 50% anyway. Recharging is so important — it’s just hard to do.”
Lambert also noted the importance of living life to help inform her music. “As a creative, if you don’t let go and live your life, there’s nothing to write about,” she told Bunnie, who is married to Jelly Roll. “There’s no fuel. You know what I mean? If you just constantly are going to the next goal.”
Bunnie XO noted that Lambert has been in the music industry for almost 25 years, saying, “That’s a long time. So for you to just have reached burnout last year? You’re a savage. Like, you are an animal!”
Lambert responded, “It wasn’t the burnout where I’m like, ‘I’m quitting forever.’ It was just one of those moments — I’ve had those over the years. Honestly, a lot of it for musicians — as you know, because you’re on tour [with Jelly Roll] — is August, when you’re doing summer tours. By the time August comes, I’ve been hot all year. You’re playing outside. August is usually [when] everyone is like, ‘I don’t wanna tour anymore.’ But then you take a break and you’re like, ‘OK, I’m ready again.’”
Lambert also noted that at 40, she’s more interested in being selective in pursuing things that are beneficial. “You just go,’ I really just wanna go after the good s–t, and not deal with any of the other noise that doesn’t really matter in my life.’ And also spend my time, whether it be personal or professional, on things that really add to my life,” she shared. “I do love what I do for a living — that’s why I’ve done it for so long. But you can’t love it all the time.”
For Lambert, getting away often means being around her beloved animals and riding horses. “It’s taking moments and also chasing hobbies, and like, doing other forms of art. I need to just sit down. I don’t paint. I’m terrible at it, but I should try. I ride horses and like, I love that, and it’s physical, and it’s good for your mind and spirit. So taking time to do those things is important.”
She also noted that she goes antiquing, saying, “I go to this place called Round Top in Texas twice a year and its just miles and miles — the biggest flea market ever … my friends Junk Gypsy, they’re a lifestyle brand and are the staple of this whole vibe and they have a bed and breakfast called the Wander Inn. We go around in golf carts and drink wine and buy old s–t. It’s heaven.”
Listen to Miranda Lambert chat with Bunnie XO on Dumb Blonde:
Bunnie XO is opening up about a terrifying “death scare” that she went through recently.
The 44-year-old model shared on the newest episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast that she sought medical advice after suffering with frequent headaches. “I noticed that it was kinda, like, after I would eat certain foods. I don’t know if it was, like, high in salts or something because I don’t eat bad,” she explained, noting that she follows a healthy diet because she’s “trying so hard to just rewind all the … drug-induced trauma I did to my body, and alcohol trauma I did to my body growing up.”
Bunnie, who is married to Grammy-nominated star Jelly Roll, revealed that a TikTok a friend sent to her about aneurysms gave her a “panic attack,” which prompted her to reach out to her doctor at 2 a.m. to book an MRI. “My mom had an aneurysm, and it ruptured. And she almost died,” she explained of her history with the blood vessel condition.
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When she received the results, Bunnie said she was told that “they might have found an aneurysm on your carotid artery,” adding that the news was “one of my biggest fears coming to fruition.”
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She continued, “There was just so many things that went through my mind. And I instantly just hit my knees and started praying. I bawled my eyes out. I cried so hard, I pulled a muscle in my neck. I cried for three days.”
She ultimately went for another scan, which led to a diagnosis of a “two-millimeter aneurysm on your carotid artery,” which are the arteries located on the sides of the neck. However, Bunnie sought another opinion and went to a neurologist, who told her that it actually wasn’t an aneurysm.
“He said, ‘I wish you had an aneurysm so I could fix your headaches.’ And I was just like, ’Hey, homie. Slow your roll.’ I was like, ‘I’m good,’” she recalled. The podcaster then went to a vascular surgeon, who confirmed that she didn’t have an aneurysm.
She explained that the doctor told her, “‘I am clearing you.’ He said, ‘It’s a blood vessel that matches on the other side of your carotid artery on the other end.’ And he said, ‘This was just one of these things where I get to deliver good news.’ He said, ‘If you wanna go play tackle football, you can.’ ”
Bunnie has since found a silver lining from the difficult situation. “It made me appreciate life so much. And, like, I know it sounds dramatic, but … it just really made me realize that, like, none of this s— f—ing matters, man,” she shared. “Family and the people that you love and the people that you surround yourself with every day is all that f—ing matters, dude. I snuggled up so much to my husband these past few days.”
Listen to the full episode of Dumb Blonde here.
A vulnerable Machine Gun Kelly opens up about his troubled relationship with his mother in a raw conversation with Bunnie XO on the eighth season opener of her popular podcast, Dumb Blonde. “I would like to say for the record I love my mom dearly and I misrepresented her a lot early in my career,” Kelly […]