Jelly Roll‘s 41st birthday will be one he and his wife always remember, thanks to the “Save Me” singer’s daughter, Bailee.
Bailee Ann, 17, is Jelly Roll’s oldest child and the stepdaughter of his wife Alisa, better known as Bunnie XO. On Wednesday, Dec. 3, Bunnie shared video on Instagram of Bailee surprising them with their own “prom night.”
Jelly Roll and Bunnie didn’t attend their own proms, so Bailee felt it would be worth it to give them their own private special occasion.
“I learned a powerful lesson as a parent this week. Bailee has always hated school dances. But because J and I never went to ours, we’ve always pushed her: ‘Go make memories. Go have the experiences we missed,’ ” Bunnie wrote over the clip.
Bailee Ann went all out
As the video progressed, Bunnie added in the accompanying text that when her stepdaughter first told her she had a surprise planned, it made her pause.
“This year has been heavy — schedules, mental health, burnout…all of it. We’ve kept to ourselves, and we hate surprises. So when Bailee texted saying she had one for us, I spiraled,” Bunnie admitted. “Especially after we swore there’d be no surprises for J’s birthday. But we showed up for our girl anyway…even with tired hearts.”
Needless to say, it was worth it to show up. Bailee truly put in a full effort to make the occasion special, right down to the sugar-free mocktails for Bunnie and crown for her dad.
“What we walked into stopped us in our tracks — a full room of friends and family…a night she called ‘Under the Stars.’ A prom/birthday party she created for us,” Bunnie continued. “She crowned us King and Queen, and we danced and sang like teenagers who finally got their moment.”
What was the ‘powerful lesson’?
Bunnie closed out the video by sharing what memorable lesson she learned from her stepdaughter’s heartfelt gesture.
“Time is the most precious thing we own. Spend it on your people. The memories you make with them will outlive everything else,” she concluded.
Jelly Roll, Bailee have always shared a strong bond
Bailee was born May 22, 2008. At the time, Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord was in prison for drugs, and has spoken openly about how his daughter’s birth changed him.
“I could no longer be selfish. There was something that was solely relying on me,” the “Need a Favor” performer once told 105.7 The Point. “I knew that that was an important task. So I wanted to take it seriously. And I did. I take it very seriously to this day.”
Jelly Roll also has a nine-year-old son Noah. Bunnie has clearly embraced both children as if they were her own, and the feeling seems to be mutual.
