After Being Released from Jail, Jelly Roll ‘Just Wanted to Be a Good Dad’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Country star Jelly Roll recently shared the ups and downs of his fatherhood journey after being released from jail.
“I got home when she was almost 2,” the singer said of his daughter Bailee, now 17, while appearing on the SMARTLESS podcast. “Her mother, at the time, because I was, rightfully so, a…criminal, wouldn’t let me see her. So I had to go to court. I had to get supervised visits through the courtroom.”
Jelly Roll continued, “I had to step that very slow, build a relationship, then six hours on Friday evening, but she had to be home before 10 p.m. I just had to keep going to the court every six months and going, ‘Look, I’m continuing to prove I’m changing.’ Music, like being famous, wasn’t even a thought then. I just wanted to be a good dad.”
“Fast forward, that same little girl that was born when I was incarcerated is fixing to turn 17 years old,” he said. “She’s got one of the highest GPAs at her high school. She’s a dual enrollment kid and is a junior going to college. Me and my wife have had full custody of her for eight years. This is one of our best friends.”
Jelly Roll has been open about his past incarceration and struggles with substance abuse and often talks about how fatherhood encouraged him to turn his life around.
“I could no longer be selfish. There was something that was solely relying on me,” Jelly Roll said during an interview with 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.”
Family is still the most important thing to the country star, even as he juggles his personal life with his growing musical success.
“I prioritize family, and that’s what anchors me down,” he explained in a 2024 interview with People. “Everything that I believe going right for me is in the fact that I’m pretty grounded in my family.”
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