Days after the news that country music star Jelly Roll filed for divorce from his wife of 10 years, Bunnie Xo, the internet personality took to her Dumb Blonde podcast to reveal that the dissolution of their marriage wouldn’t be the end of their IVF journey.

“You guys are going to be shocked to hear this, but we’re still having a baby,” the 46-year-old, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, said in a July 18 episode. “We have been the most unconventional couple that you guys have ever encountered.”

According to Morghan Richardson, the co-chair of the Matrimonial Law Practice at Tarter, Krinsky & Drogin, IVF is becoming an increasingly common feature of divorces and prenuptial agreements. “I have handled a number of cases involving claims surrounding what might happen with embryos, should a spouse be permitted to have a child despite the divorce or after the divorce, and terms that can be used surrounding this issue in prenups,” she tells SheKnows.

Bunnie described her IVF journey as “one of the loneliest, darkest” experiences, adding that the hormones her estranged husband was taking to aid his low sperm count “turned him into a freaking nightmare to be around.” She shared: “We’ve had three transfers, but we lost the two twins that we were gonna try to have, and then we lost the other two. And anybody that’s going through that and has to deal with these miscarriages — it’s gut-wrenching.”

Still, Bunnie and Jelly Roll‘s efforts to have kids together appear to be moving forward. On July 21, People reported that the exes were “separately advised” by their divorce attorneys that there could be “consequences” to having a baby together “due to evolving technology and case law; as well as the ‘interim category’ of interest afforded to said genetic materials.” Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, and Bunnie have both “specifically chosen not to seek” expert counsel on the matter.

Per Richardson, fertility clinics often request advanced planning when people create embryos to create stipulations for if the couple were to divorce or break up later. “Sometimes this provision will override later decisions, or at least it will be solid evidence of the couple’s initial intention regarding what should happen,” she says. “I have seen cases where one spouse has not had any children during a marriage and may be without the opportunity to have kids if the embryos are not used, which is an understandably sympathetic position.”

Any settlement involving embryos should consider parental rights, visitation issues, and potential support issues for future kids, says Richardson. “I have even seen contracts that absolve one party of rights and support, unfortunately,” she says. “Prenups can also attempt to put parameters on how embryos will be used in the event of a divorce, and it’s a worthwhile exercise for couples to engage in, so that they have more certainty.”

But even with these agreements in place, those who create embryos are still vulnerable to ever-changing state laws. In 2024, an Alabama Supreme Court ruling classified embryos as “children,” and other states could follow suit.

Actress Sofia Vergara can attest to the risks. In 2016, an unusual “right-to-live” lawsuit was filed against Vergara in Louisiana on behalf of embryos she created with ex-fiancé Nick Loeb. Vergara and Loeb ended their engagement in 2014, and the following year, Loeb wrote an op-ed in the New York Times explaining his desire to bring the frozen embryos to term via a surrogate despite his ex’s objection.

What followed was years-long legal battles in Louisiana and California, where the embryos were created. Loeb’s Louisiana lawsuit to gain custody of the embryos was dismissed in 2021, a month before a California judge granted Vergara’s request to prevent Loeb from using the frozen embryos without her permission.

Richardson notes that there are many different considerations when it comes to litigating embryo use, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach for current or former couples. For cases like Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo in which a couple may be seeking to welcome a child via IVF after divorce, Richardson says, “All legal advice is very fact-specific, but I would generally tell people to consider how parental rights will look over that child, what sort of visitation schedules would be appropriate, and what support issues may be needed. Be very cautious in the situation and absolutely get an attorney to help guide you through the specific nuances involved in your case.”