Dan Smyers ran into Jelly Roll and says he's doing 'great.' Shay Mooney praised both parties for handling their split with 'class,' emphasizing they want the best for everyone involved. The message: Nashville is united in support.
Insiders note that Jelly Roll filed May 18 but kept it quiet until June 15—nearly a month of secret proceedings. Meanwhile, he's already dating again while Bunnie reveals they're still planning a baby. That 'best friends forever' narrative? Convenient timing.
Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo filed for divorce May 18, 2026, citing irreconcilable differences after nearly 10 years of marriage (August 2016). Page Six broke the story June 15. Jelly Roll spoke publicly at his Saratoga Springs concert June 18—his only scheduled comment.
Jelly Roll wants this framed as an amicable split between best friends, but the timeline tells a different story: secret filing, quick rebound dating, and baby plans that don't quite add up. Classic PR spin.
The Nashville country music community is circling the wagons around Jelly Roll—but the optics are getting harder to defend. Dan Smyers of chart-topping duo Dan + Shay gave Page Six an update on their friend at Tuesday night's Tight Ends & Friends Concert in Nashville, and his assessment was decidedly upbeat. "I saw him the other night, actually," Smyers exclusively told the outlet. "Yeah, I ran into him. He was great. We didn't really get into it, but I'm happy for him." The Grammy-winning musician also praised Jelly Roll's fitness journey social media post from earlier that day, calling it "amazing" and adding, "Damn, that's my guy." Shay Mooney took a more diplomatic approach, directing praise toward both parties navigating this very public unraveling. "They've handled it with class," Mooney said of Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo. "It's a tough thing to go through very, very publicly. We want the best for both of them." As married men themselves, both Dan + Shay members acknowledged how brutal such a split would be under paparazzi scrutiny—but stopped well short of offering any details about what actually went wrong between their friend and his estranged wife. Here's where things get interesting: Page Six confirmed on June 15 that Jelly Roll quietly filed for divorce from Bunnie nearly a month earlier—May 18, 2026—with "irreconcilable differences" cited in the filing. That's roughly 28 days of secret legal proceedings before the public knew anything. The Grammy winner finally broke his silence during a June 18 concert in Saratoga Springs, New York—the only time he'd address it publicly. In that moment, he declared to fans: "Me and my wife are best friends. We will always be best friends... Nobody cheated on nobody." He also plugged Bunnie's "Dumb Blonde" podcast episode released that same evening, calling her "my best friend forever." But the plot thickens. In that very podcast episode, Bunnie revealed something jarring: she and Jelly Roll are still planning to have a baby together—despite her estranged husband already dating someone new. The former couple, who married in August 2016, don't share any children together currently, though Jelly Roll is father to daughter Bailee Ann, 18, and son Noah Buddy, 9, from previous relationships. So while the public narrative insists on "best friends forever," the private reality apparently includes baby plans that seem wildly optimistic for a couple who couldn't make it nearly a decade work. Nashville insiders are watching closely. The May 18 filing date means Jelly Roll was already legally moving toward divorce when he told fans at various shows this spring that everything was fine—assuming anyone believed him, given the visible cracks in recent months. Now comes the hard part: dividing assets, untangling business ventures built during their marriage, and figuring out how to co-parent a future child that's apparently still on the table while dating other people. The "class" both parties have shown might hold up for press statements—but it typically crumbles when lawyers get involved.
