Born into a troubled family, Jelly Roll fought against the odds to become the successful country music star he is today.

It’s no secret Jelly Roll’s life story is also a tragic one. The rapper-turned-country-star had been in trouble with the law since he was just 14, and for many years wandered throughout life without a plan.

Now, he is able to channel that tragedy through his music, as a result helping other people who know the pain of feeling trapped by their darkest thoughts. “I’ve heard everything from ‘Your music was played at my daughter’s funeral; she had an accidental overdose’ to ‘Your song helped me get through rehab,'” he told The New York Times.

Meanwhile, Jelly Roll’s relationship with his kids — daughter Bailee Ann DeFord and son Noah — has really benefited from his recovery. But sadly, his daughter has also lived a tragic life.

With years of generational trauma preceding her birth, many of DeFord’s harrowing life experiences mirror those of her father. However, Jelly Roll is intent on being there for his daughter no matter what, in turn hopefully helping her heal the scars of the past.

“Being a father is so important to me, and just being as present as I can for her,” he told People. “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.

Jelly Roll was in jail when Bailee Ann DeFord was born

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Jelly Roll has made an incredible transformation from prison inmate to country music star. 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. Subsequently, he ended up in jail numerous times due to drug offenses, robbery, and assault, crimes that he has expressed regret and sorrow over. His own childhood had been deeply traumatic since his mother also suffered from substance misuse, as did some of his cousins and brothers.

In 2008, the then 24-year-old was finishing off a jail sentence for drug dealing when a prison guard gave him some shocking news. His ex, Felicia Beckwith, had given birth to their child. “He said, ‘DeFord, you had a kid today,'” Jelly Roll recalled to CBS 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. Becoming a parent was a lightbulb moment for Jelly Roll, and enough to ensure that he came out of prison a changed man. “Man, the single most impactful event of my entire life was having my daughter,” he told People. “It changed everything.” Intent on providing for his firstborn, he completed his GED in jail and finally met DeFord, then aged 2, upon his release.

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Growing up, Bailee Ann DeFord watched her birth mother, Felicia Beckwith, grapple with substance misuse. On a February 2024 episode of “Dumb Blonde,” a podcast hosted by her stepmom, Bunnie Xo, DeFord opened up about the trauma of losing the mother she once knew to addiction.

“Kindergarten year, I guess, is when it started to decline with mom … you know, addiction and stuff,” she said. “And then I guess around 6, first grade was when it just, like, went gone.”

In a 2020 Instagram post, DeFord described Beckwith as choosing drugs over her own child. As Jelly Roll explained in his interview with The New York Times, his daughter didn’t really understand what her mother was going through at the time. Subsequently, he discussed the difficulties of having to tell a young child that her mom was dealing with substance misuse. “I’ve always been honest,” he said. “Bailee was different, my oldest, because of what her mother was dealing with. I was trying to describe what addiction was to an 8-year-old without using words like ‘addiction’ or ‘drugs.'”

Though Jelly Roll acknowledged that substance misuse is a disease, he suggested that it can also fundamentally change a person, which is what he believes happened with Beckwith. As such, he was mindful of the disease’s impact on his daughter, recalling the painful moments in which he had to console her due to her mother’s behavior. “I’ve had to hold that kid crying. It hurts,” he added.

From a young age, Bailee Ann DeFord was forced to take care of the household

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When Bailee Ann DeFord was little, her mother, Felicia Beckwith, entered a codependent relationship with a man who also struggled with substance misuse. As DeFord explained on the “Dumb Blonde” podcast, Beckwith’s mental and physical health deteriorated to the point that she stopped taking her daughter to school. Eventually, their home was left in disrepair. “The house was horrendous … Like, nightmares. Like, I still, to this day,” she said.

By age 7, DeFord was forced to take care of the household, taking on cooking and cleaning duties, as well as caring for her two young cousins, whom she was essentially raising as her own children. She was severely neglected and had no bed, instead sleeping in a chair as she didn’t want her cousins to have to sleep on the floor. “Right after I turned 8, 2016, around that time, was when it got to the point where they weren’t, like, being able to pay the bills because they’re spending all their money on drugs,” she said. “So, it’s like the lights kept going out and the water kept going out. And we owned the house, there wasn’t rent, but like, all these things kept turning off.”

Jelly Roll and his new wife, Bunnie Xo, tried to help out by sending Beckwith money to pay the bills. However, she and her partner ended up spending the money on drugs each time.

Bailee Ann DeFord’s mom lost custody of her

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Due to her mother’s issues with substance misuse, Bailee Ann DeFord was eventually taken out of her care. Prior to this period, she rarely saw her father; as she explained on the “Dumb Blonde” podcast, she grew up hating Jelly Roll as her birth mother made her believe he was a terrible person. But after witnessing the neglect that DeFord was enduring, Jelly Roll and his wife, Bunnie Xo, knew that they had to take steps towards obtaining custody of her.

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.

While there are weird things we can’t help but notice in Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo’s marriage, such as their tendency to overshare, there’s no denying that the country singer’s wife has been a positive presence in his daughter’s life. 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 told Billboard.

As a child, Bailee Ann DeFord had her own issues with substance misuse

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After moving in with Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo, Bailee Ann DeFord stopped hearing from Felicia Beckwith and had no idea where she was. Eventually, she found out that she was incarcerated. When DeFord turned 12, her mom returned, hoping to reconcile with her. “When I’m actually doing half decent, she’s like, ‘What can I f*** up in her head?'” 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. “Nobody knew except my mother, who manipulated and convinced me to do [drugs],” she said, noting that Beckwith would give her bags of illicit substances for Christmas. After a significant period of consistently drinking and using drugs, her mom left one day with no explanation, propelling DeFord to seek help and get sober.

In 2024, Jelly Roll spoke to congress about the impact of substance misuse on his family, urging the government to take action against the opioid crisis. “Every single day I have to wonder … if today will be the day that I have to tell my daughter that her mother became a part of a national statistic,” he said, per the New York Post.

She struggled with suicidal thoughts

@baileeannnnn / Instagram

Since she was a child, Bailee Ann DeFord has struggled with suicidal thoughts. 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. Sent into a downward spiral, this was further exacerbated when her mother came to visit her for her birthday. “Then that sends me even, like, worse into, like, this pit I was in … I did some things, I said some things, and had a really terrible, terrible summer, and like it got dark,” she divulged on the “Dumb Blonde” podcast. Subsequently, she attempted suicide.

Deeply concerned, Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo sought help for the teen, with Bunnie acknowledging that these issues were the result of severe trauma. “It’s crazy that you even knew that it was that deep-rooted because you didn’t know what it was deep rooted in,” DeFord said. “It was like, well, there’s some childhood s***, but, I mean, obviously there has to be more.”

At her lowest point, DeFord had a heart-to-heart of sorts with herself, coming to the conclusion that she would either end up dead or in jail if she didn’t work hard at healing. Accordingly, she advised other children who may be going through abuse or trauma not to give up hope.

Bailee Ann DeFord and her stepmom were hospitalized

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In July 2024, Bailee Ann DeFord and her stepmother, Bunnie Xo, suffered dual health scares. The pair were hospitalized at the same time, with this being Bunnie’s second hospitalization in the space of a week.

In a video uploaded to TikTok, 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. It’s unknown why the stepmom and daughter duo were admitted to hospital, though in Bunnie’s case it may have had something to do with a previous aneurysm scare. 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. Since 2023, DeFord has taken a lengthy break from both TikTok and Instagram, though it’s unknown whether her absence is due to underlying health issues, be they physical or mental.

Bailee Ann DeFord was bullied by trolls

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Bailee Ann DeFord has been open about her struggles with negative self-image. In an Instagram post uploaded in February 2019, DeFord, who was then just 10, revealed that her biggest insecurities are her teeth and her body. “One of my goals for this year, and always, is to be a better person and also to love myself more,” she wrote. These insecurities have likely been exacerbated by DeFord being subjected to online bullying, with trolls mocking her weight and appearance.

Bunnie Xo has developed a loving relationship with Jelly Roll’s kids and has been quick to come to their defense. In 2024, Bunnie uploaded a TikTok video in which she addressed a user who body-shamed DeFord. She explained that many people who struggle with weight issues suffer from eating disorders, before giving the body-shamer some life advice. “So for you to even come on my page and say something about my underage daughter’s body shows the type of human you are,” she said. “And I just hope you have the day that you deserve and the life you deserve because people like you don’t make it far in life.”

It’s not just DeFord’s stepmother who has helped her tackle trolls. In an Instagram post, she revealed that her dad gave her advice on how to deal with bullies. “You have been by my side when no body [sic] else could or would,” she reflected.

She has lived with anxiety and depression

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Jelly Roll has been open about his struggles with depression, describing himself as a broken man trying to heal in an interview with The Guardian. It’s a sentiment shared by his daughter, Bailee Ann DeFord, who has also opened up about her issues with anxiety and depression, and her quest for healing. On the “Dumb Blonde” podcast, she admitted to having anger issues, which Bunnie Xo suggested was due to her traumatic childhood. (Studies have shown that anger is often a component of depression.) By the age of 14, DeFord was in the midst of a deep depression and subsequently enrolled in an intensive mental health workshop. “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. “She has held my hand through anxiety, cried with me in sad times, smiled with me when I am glad, and celebrated with me at big events,” she wrote on Instagram.

On the podcast, DeFord revealed that she wanted to channel her own experiences into something positive, devoting her time to helping other teenagers who have mental health issues. “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.”

Bailee Ann DeFord eventually had to go no contact with her mom

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As of 2024, Bailee Ann DeFord and Felicia Beckwith are not in each other’s lives. On the aforementioned episode of the “Dumb Blonde” podcast, Bunnie Xo noted that DeFord’s biological mother, who has gotten sober in the past, found “trouble” again, and DeFord then referred to Beckwith as if she were irredeemable. Accordingly, she has made the decision to cut off all communication with her biological mom. “[I’m] very, very strict on my stance on it … She is, frankly, I believe my mother is soulless,” she said.

In his aforementioned The New York Times interview, Jelly Roll said that while he believed everybody has the capacity to turn their life around, he wasn’t so sure whether Beckwith would ever be able to atone for the trauma she inflicted on their daughter. “Sometimes I am way less forgiving with her,” he said. “I have to catch myself when I have those human emotions. … After so many times, you get to a point where you’re like, man, is it the drugs or is it the person?”

Speaking to Life and Style, a family friend said that for DeFord’s sake, Jelly Roll may not welcome Beckwith back into the fold until she can prove that she’s not only capable of change, but sticking to it. “Jelly’s all about second chances, and he believes Felicia can turn her life around and be a part of Bailee’s life again,” they said. “But for now, Bailee’s safety and well-being come first.”