Jelly Roll Shares How He Really Feels Amid Weight Loss Journey at ACM Awards

Jelly Roll doesn’t just look good after losing weight, but he also feels good!

On Thursday, May 8, the 40-year-old country singer attended the 2025 American Country Music Awards in Frisco, Texas. Jelly (real name Jason Bradley DeFord) caught up with Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet and revealed how he feels after shedding almost 200 lbs.

“Dude, I feel like I’ve lost as much weight as I look like I’ve lost,” he remarked. “It’s unreal. I feel incredible. I’m having a great night.”

The “Need a Favor” hitmaker also gushed about how beautiful his wife Bunnie XO (real name Alyssa DeFord) looked, telling the outlet, “My wife’s here. She’s by far the best dressed on the carpet. I think we can all agree on that now that she’s arrived.”

It was a big night for the Tennessee native, as he was nominated for three awards, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year. He also took the stage with Shaboozey to perform their hit single “Amen.”

The Grammy-nominated artist is in the middle of an ongoing weight-loss transformation. Last month, during Pat McAfee’s Big Night AHT live show, he told the sports analyst, “I started at 540 pounds and I was 357 pounds this morning! I’m gonna lose another 100 pounds and go skydiving with my wife in Sweden, baby!”

In December 2024, Jelly was a guest on his wife’s Dumb Blonde podcast and set a goal for himself to “be on the cover of ‘Men’s Health’ by March 2026.” The “Liar” singer also shared his reasoning for being so open about his health journey.

@xomgitsbunnie Jelly is on the couch this week! 🤍 OUT NOW for all members or tomorrow for everyone 🎙️👱‍♀️ #jellyandbunnie ♬ original sound – Bunnie Xo 🪄

“I did this publicly for a reason. I want to be honest about my struggles with it with people. I wore it for so long,” he said. “I think that people that become as big as I became when they lose the weight, they’re kind of ashamed, they’re so ashamed that they go hide and lose the weight and they come back out, and they don’t really know how to interact with the world looking different or feeling different and they kinda gotta find their whole new way.”

“I wanted to lose it in front of everybody. I wanted to talk about it. It’s on my daily Roll vlogs,” Jelly continued. “I mean, this is constantly what I’m putting in the air because I want to bring people along with me.”