Jelly Roll’s relationship with his 15-year-old daughter Bailee Ann is well documented, with the pair recording a song together and even surprising fans onstage. But the rising country star has been much more secretive about his young son, Noah, at least until a recent podcast interview.
The singer, whose real name is Jason DeFord, opened up about 7-year-old Noah during his appearance on the Taste of Country Nights podcast, hosted by Evan Paul, on Wednesday. The singer revealed he has tried to keep his son out of the public eye to respect the privacy of his mother, Melisa.
“With Bailee, I’m the full-time parent—I’m the judge, the jury, and the executioner when it comes to decisions with her,” he said. “And it’s way more of a co-parenting... actually, it’s really way more of me just supporting [Melisa] when it comes to my son, so I try not to ever get in the way of what she’s building over there.”
Jelly Roll’s Family and Relationship with Noah
Jelly Roll, 38, has been married to Bunnie Xo, a model and host of the Dumb Blonde podcast, since 2016, but he had his two children with different women.
Jelly Roll and Bunnie gained custody of Bailee Ann in 2016 after her birth mother, Felicia, battled drug addiction and spent time in prison. They have been very candid about Felicia’s struggles, path to sobriety, and role in the family, with Bunnie even inviting her onto an episode of Dumb Blonde.
But the singer had been much more tight-lipped about Melisa and Noah, offering only occasional glimpses into their lives. He notably shared photos of his son on Instagram in September 2021 after a performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Jelly Roll said on the podcast that Noah, born in August 2016, is still too young to comprehend everything his father has overcome on his path to music stardom. He revealed in the recent Hulu documentary Jelly Roll: Save Me that he has been to jail 40 times—including for aggravated robbery and drug-related offenses—since dropping out of school in ninth grade.
“Bailee’s 15, right, and I think she just now kind of gets it,” he said. “Right now, my son is young enough that he’s just like, ‘Is there a box that I can play with?’”
Noah Debuts on TikTok
With a little help from Bunnie, fans were directly introduced to Noah for the first time on July 12. She decided to reach out to Melisa for permission to film Noah for a TikTok video. “He always goes on vacation with us, and we just always try to shoot around him,” Jelly Roll said on Taste of Country Nights. “And, this year, my wife was like, ‘I’m just going to hit her up and tell I want to post.’ And she was like, ‘Yeah, totally cool.’”
In the video, young Noah talks about his favorite color and sport—red and soccer—and why he loves the beach, among other things.
Only two days after the post, Bunnie also shared a photo of Melisa on Facebook and credited her for taking care of Noah while she and her husband are on the road. “She’s one stand up chick & we couldn’t imagine our lives without her,” Bunnie wrote.
Jelly Roll offered similar praise this week on the podcast. “I’m so proud of her and what she’s doing with him, that I just want to respect that boundary,” he said.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
