The DeFords Spent Thanksgiving Week Giving Back — And Bunnie Xo’s Mission Hits Especially Deep
Jelly Roll wasn’t the only DeFord making an impact this Thanksgiving. While he revisited the jail where he once spent some of his darkest days, offering food and hope to more than 300 inmates and staff, his wife, Bunnie Xo, was across Nashville pouring her heart into a mission that cuts even closer to home.
For many, the holidays bring warmth, family, and full tables. But for countless women and children facing abuse, instability, or financial struggle, this time of year can be overwhelming. That’s why the DeFord family stepped up the way they did — each in their own lane, but with the same mission: make sure no one feels forgotten.
Just days before Thanksgiving, Jelly Roll returned to the correctional facility where he once served time. He spoke directly to the inmates, offering the kind of encouragement only someone who has lived that life can give. Then he fed them — all of them. Sheriff Daron Hall said it best: “Moments like this show the impact one person can make when they choose to lift others up.”
But while Jelly Roll gave back to the men and women still behind bars, Bunnie Xo was doing something just as powerful, and just as personal.
Bunnie partnered with The Mary Parish Center, a Nashville organization dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. For Bunnie, this wasn’t just charity — it was a return to the battlefield she once fought her way out of.
She openly shared that from 2013 to 2016, she was trapped in a violent relationship. During her exclusive interview with Extra TV, she revealed a haunting photo: her face bruised and swollen from an assault. It’s an image she never wanted to take, much less share — but she did so for one reason.
“I want these women to know I have been exactly where they are,” she said. “I want them to see me and think, ‘Okay, she gets it.’”
So Bunnie didn’t just show up with kind words. She and her team brought full Thanksgiving meal kits, care packages for women in transitional housing, and enough love to fill every room. And then — in a moment that left the center stunned — she surprised the executive director, Mary Catherine, with a $25,000 donation.
It was a gift not just of money, but of hope. A reminder that healing is real. That survivors can rebuild, rise, and even come back to lift up those who are still in the fight.
Seeing both Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo dedicate their holiday week to serving others paints a powerful picture of who they really are. Behind the chart-toppers, the tours, the headlines, and the spotlight, the DeFords never forget the people they used to be — or the people who need them now.
In a season built on gratitude and giving, their actions spoke louder than any song ever could.