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This article mentions substance misuse, child abuse, suicide, and eating disorders.
It’s no secretJelly Roll’s life story is also a tragic one.
But sadly, his daughter has also lived a tragic life.
“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.”
Get the hankies ready as we look at tragic details about Jelly Roll’s daughter, Bailee Ann DeFord.
But without the birth of his daughter, Bailee Ann DeFord, he may have never undergone that transformation.
As a teenager and young man, Jelly Roll struggled with substance misuse.
His ex, Felicia Beckwith, had given birth to their child.
“He said, ‘DeFord, you had a kid today,'” Jelly Roll recalled toCBS News.
“I said, ‘What?’
He said, ‘Yeah, yeah, you had a child.’
And I was like, ‘What’s her name?’
And he said, ‘Hell, I don’t know.'”
Despite the circumstances of her birth, DeFord would soon learn that her father had her back.
“It changed everything.”
In a 2020Instagrampost, DeFord described Beckwith as choosing drugs over her own child.
“I’ve always been honest,” he said.
“Bailee was different, my oldest, because of what her mother was dealing with.
“I’ve had to hold that kid crying.
It hurts,” he added.
Eventually, their home was left in disrepair.
“The house was horrendous … Like, nightmares.
Like, I still, to this day,” she said.
“So, it’s like the lights kept going out and the water kept going out.
However, she and her partner ended up spending the money on drugs each time.
In his interview with The New York Times, Jelly Roll discussed his fears over having custody of DeFord.
Namely, he acknowledged that he perhaps lacked the sufficient experience and maturity to care for a child.
“I was like: ‘I know her mother’s a piece of [expletive].
Her mother’s family isn’t able to raise this child.
My family’s not able to raise this child.
I’ve got to figure this out,'” he reflected.
But thankfully, Bunnie was able to step in and mediate the difficult situation.
And it was thanks to Bunnie that Jelly Roll got custody of DeFord.
“I would have never got custody of my daughter without her.
I wouldn’t have had the stability or the money,” he toldBillboard.
Eventually, she found out that she was incarcerated.
When DeFord turned 12, her mom returned, hoping to reconcile with her.
DeFord remarked on the “Dumb Blonde” podcast.
Two years later, she decided to spend more time with her mother.
During this period, Beckwith offered DeFord weed, which she began smoking regularly.
From that point onwards, her mother offered her harder drugs, as well as alcohol.
She first began feeling this way when she was only 7 or 8.
As a teenager, her girlfriend attempted suicide, which triggered DeFord’s own suicidal ideation.
“Then that sends me even, like, worse into, like, this pit I was in …
Subsequently, she attempted suicide.
Accordingly, she advised other children who may be going through abuse or trauma not to give up hope.
In a video uploaded toTikTok, Bunnie and DeFord were seen waiting in a hospital room.
“When you’ve been to the hospital three times.
Once for her, twice for me,” Bunnie captioned the video.
She also noted that she had to be treated for low blood sugar and a spider bite.
Bunnie didn’t mention why her stepdaughter was hospitalized, however.
In 2024, Bunnie uploaded aTikTokvideo in which she addressed a user who body-shamed DeFord.
It’s not just DeFord’s stepmother who has helped her tackle trolls.
In anInstagrampost, she revealed that her dad gave her advice on how to deal with bullies.
(Studies have shown that anger is often a component of depression.)
“It’s like, I’m 14 years old,” she said.
“I have lost all of my relationships with people.
Maybe I should get it together.
And I did for a while.”
In 2020, DeFord opened up about the ways Bunnie Xo had helped her through her mental health struggles.
“The mental health crisis with teenagers right now is disgusting,” she said.
“And it makes me want to do everything in my power I can.”
Accordingly, she has made the decision to cut off all communication with her biological mom.
“Sometimes I am way less forgiving with her,” he said.
“I have to catch myself when I have those human emotions.
“But for now, Bailee’s safety and well-being come first.”
The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact theirlive chat services.
