Jelly Roll continues to impress fans with his music – and his health journey. The "Son of a Sinner" singer, 40, showed off his slimmer frame while hitting the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs) red carpet at Omni Frisco Hotel on Thursday, May 8, in Frisco, Texas. He gave off country vibes with a black ensemble as he made a heart symbol with his hands for cameras. He was accompanied by his wife, podcaster Bunnie XO, who stunned in a black cutout lace gown while they cozied up on the carpet for photos.
Jelly Roll has been on a massive weight loss journey over the past two years. Just last month, the Grammy-nominated crooner shared that he had lost an impressive 200 pounds. "I started at 540 pounds and I was 357 pounds this morning,” he said about the milestone during Pat McAfee's Big Night Aht live show on April 9 – just five months after he announced he had lost 120 pounds. "I’m gonna lose another 100 pounds and go skydiving with my wife in Sweden, baby!"
He's also appeared on Bunnie's Dumb Blonde Podcast in December 2024 where he shared, "What I want the world to know, and I want people to see ... is that I didn't become successful because of my weight. I became successful in spite of it. I somehow managed to be this successful carrying 550 pounds. That's insane." Jelly Roll is up for Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year for 2024's Beautifully Broken.
Jelly Roll and his wife, Bunnie XO, brought the heat to the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards. The singer, 40, and the podcast host, 45, walked on the red carpet before the Thursday, May 8, ceremony at Ford Center in Frisco, Texas. The couple stunned in coordinating black lace looks. Jelly Roll rocked a black ensemble that featured a pop of gold with black lace on top. Bunnie showed some skin with a lacy gown that included multiple cutouts and a high slit.
Jelly Roll is nominated for three awards at this year’s ACMs, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year. In the Entertainer of the Year category, Jelly Roll is competing against Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, and Lainey Wilson. For Male Artist of the Year, he is up against Combs, 35, Johnson, 37, Stapleton, 47, and Wallen, 31. In the Album of the Year category, his 2024 record, Beautifully Broken, is nominated alongside Wilson’s Whirlwind, Megan Moroney’s Am I Okay? (I’ll Be Fine), Zach Top’s Cold Beer and Country Music, and Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion.
Jelly Roll and Bunnie (whose real names are Jason DeFord and Alyssa DeFord, respectively) have been married since 2016 after meeting at one of his concerts the previous year. In February 2024, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that the couple “really bonded over being left behind” in the industry during the early stages of their careers. “Now they feel like they’ve overcome so much together,” the insider said, adding that the pair “have an ‘us against the world’ mentality.”
While Jelly Roll is already the father of daughter Bailee, 16, and son Noah, 8, from previous relationships, Bunnie revealed on her “Dumb Blonde” podcast in July 2024 that the two were planning to undergo in vitro fertilization with a surrogate. Today's Top Deals “J was like … ‘I would love to have a baby with you,’” she recalled at the time. “And that was not the response that I thought he would say. I was just like, ‘Wow really? Have you always felt like that?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I will always have a baby with you. If you want to have a baby, cool. If you don’t, cool. Whatever you want to do.’ So now he’s, like, really excited about it.”
As Jelly Roll and Bunnie prepare to expand their family, he has also been focused on getting healthy amid his ongoing weight loss journey. “I started at 540 pounds and I was 357 pounds this morning,” he said on the Big Night AHT live show in April. “I’m gonna lose another 100 pounds.”
Country music fans, assemble: The 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards is here. Just like ACM Awards past, the annual ceremony celebrates the best and brightest in the genre, while also dishing up some serious displays of country fashion. Who could forget the bright red asymmetrical dress Taylor Swift wore to the 2009 awards show? What about Carrie Underwood’s fringed, floor-length Oscar de la Renta gown from the 2014 ceremony?
Hosted for the 18th time by “Queen of Country” Reba McEntire, the 60th annual Academy of Country Music Awards took place at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas, and featured performances from country sensations including Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, and LeAnn Rimes. Also in attendance was Keith Urban, who received the coveted Triple Crown Award during the show.
Country music stars know that the ACM Awards set the stage for a dazzling red carpet moment. Jelly Roll kept his ACM Awards attire classic but cool with a black tee, slacks, and textured loafers. Pulling the look together was the “I Am Not Okay” hitmaker’s jacket, which featured black lace appliqué and white piping. Lainey Wilson knows how to dress for a special occasion. The country crooner, who embarked on her Whirlwind World Tour earlier this year, wore a black floral-embellished top with a plunging neckline and teardrop-shaped cutouts along the midriff. Wilson finished the look with bell-bottoms and a wide-brimmed hat.
Nicole Kidman accompanied her country star husband, Keith Urban, to this year’s awards show. Urban wore a black velvet suit sans shirt. Kidman sported a structured leather top and black pants with a draped overskirt. Chris Stapleton kept things simple with a black suit and cowboy hat. His wife, Morgane, wore a black gown with a statement neckpiece.
Shaboozey stepped out in a coordinating, distressed leather ensemble that featured delicately embroidered details along the collar and pockets. Kelsea Ballerini wore a showstopping sequinned gown with a fitted bodice and mermaid skirt. Megan Moroney put on a stunning display in an asymmetrical yellow gown, which really stood out in the details. Along the sides, the gown was enclosed by beads and sparkly fringe tassels.
Reba McEntire, the host of tonight’s awards show, wore coordinating looks with her boyfriend, actor Rex Linn. The Happy’s Place star’s ensemble featured intricate black beading along the suit jacket. For finishing touches, McEntire went country-glam with sparkly black over-the-knee boots and a bedazzled belt. LeAnn Rimes wore a semi-sheer tulle gown with a corseted bodice.
The Backstreet Boys attended the ACM Awards, with Kevin Richardson standing out in a textured, light gray pinstripe look. Rita Wilson brought the glamour in a silver mesh midi dress. Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman wore a sequinned two-piece, while fellow bandmate Phillip Sweet opted for a brown suede jacket. Married band members Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook stepped out in complementary looks. Fairchild wore a long-sleeve plum minidress, while Westbrook opted for a suit with a striped jacket.
Ella Langley, this year’s most nominated artist at the ACM Awards, played with animal print and texture, wearing a snakeskin-print gown with a rhinestone sash and delicate eyelet lace. Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay wore monochromatic suits. Smyers opted for burnt orange, while Shay wore light purple. Rascal Flatts members Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus suited up. Gary LeVox, meanwhile, opted for a textured leather jacket, black pants, and a silver wallet chain.
Jessie Murph was pretty in pink! The “Blue Strips” singer-songwriter wore a coordinating baby pink look: a fringed plunging top with low-rise flare pants. To round out the look, Murph brought Wilbur, her pet pig. Mickey Guyton, a two-time ACM Awards nominee, wore a floor-length column dress covered in delicate silver beading. Kassi Ashton wore an off-white lace gown with delicate draping and a thigh-high slit. Dasha, a first-time ACM Awards nominee, wore a strapless pale pink gown. Tucker Wetmore stepped out in a gray pinstripe suit with a matching gray cowboy hat. Jessie James Decker sparkled in an embellished champagne-colored gown. Morgan Simianer wore a sparkly silver gown with a bustier bodice and thigh-high slit, finishing off her look with a cowboy hat and brown cowboy boots. Franklin Jonas, younger brother of Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas, stepped out in an all-black suit with a silver bolo tie.
