Jelly Roll Reveals How His 275-Lb Weight Loss Made Him a ‘Better Father’

Jelly Roll’s 275-pound weight loss has changed his life in more ways than one.

“[It’s changed me in] every way,” the country singer, 41, told Extra at Netflix’s Star Search premiere on Tuesday, January 20. “I’ve gotten closer to God, I’ve gotten closer to myself, I’m a better father. I’m more present with my children.”

Jelly Roll (real name Jason Bradley DeFord) explained that he started coaching 9-year-old son Noah’s basketball team, which he never thought he would be able to do.

“I just feel physically better, and I feel like I can physically do it,” he said. “When you’re 550 pounds, you wonder if there’s even a seat big enough for you somewhere, you know what I mean? You definitely don’t think about trying to coach a team.”

Jelly Roll’s Weight Loss Transformation Through the Years

Jelly Roll, who married wife Bunnie XO in 2016, is a dad to both Noah and daughter Bailee, 17, from previous relationships.

In addition to becoming a “better father,” the “Save Me” singer told the outlet that he has a “whole different relationship with food” after he sought therapy for food addiction. He has also fallen in love with running after previously hating the activity.

Jelly Roll has been open about his weight loss journey in recent years. In 2022, he said on “The Bobby Bones Show” that he had “been fat” his entire life and even earned the Jelly Roll nickname from his mother.

“She started calling me Jelly Roll when I was young, and I spent the next 20 years trying to grow into the name,” he said.

That same year, Jelly Roll declared that his plan was to focus on wellness.

“I’m going to spend the first couple months of the year just focusing on family and health,” he told Music Mayhem in December 2022. “I lost some weight this year in 2022, but in 2023 I wanna finally conquer the demon. I don’t leave for a big tour until about the middle of the year. So I plan on taking the first half of the year to tighten the album up and get some work in.”

Jelly Roll, who weighed more than 500 pounds in 2015, dropped down to around 265 pounds by early 2026. He shed the weight by exercising and changing his diet, as well as fixing his relationship with food.

He revealed to Men’s Health earlier this month that he doesn’t feel done losing weight.

Jelly Roll Reveals How Much He Weighs After Losing 200 Lbs

“I don’t have a goal weight, I have a feeling weight, and I don’t feel it yet. I’ll know when I feel it, because I’ll finally be there. But, man, I’ve worked really hard and lost the weight the right way,” he explained. “I feel the weight loss in every facet. Whether it’s basketball and how I dribble or move, or how I can breathe running up and down a court. I feel it when I sleep and my hip hurts less and I can roll over easier without making a big of a rumble. Or the fact that me and my wife can fit on the same bed again.”

He’s also exploring the idea of surgery to remove the excess skin on his body.

“There’s so much skin under here. I’m starting to meet with skin surgeons to talk about possibly cutting skin in the next year. That’s probably what I have the weirdest relationship with. It’s like, I’m proud of it because I earned it,” he told the outlet. “It’s a symbol of a war that I fought with myself. But equally, it is in the f****ing way. So it’s just, you keep looking in the mirror, like, If that wasn’t there, dude, I’d be fire. So, [I’ll] probably have to clip these titties off eventually.”