I think we all voiced a collective 'Huh?' when we heard Jelly Roll was divorcing his gorgeous blonde wife Bunnie XO.
I think we all voiced a collective 'Huh?' when we heard Jelly Roll was divorcing his gorgeous blonde wife Bunnie XO.
Ridiculous names aside, this wasn't some celebrity couple who met after fame arrived. Trust me, I was fooled too.
When I first saw them together, I unfairly assumed she was the one hitching her wagon to a rising star as a ticket to fame and glory. Because, let's be honest, she's hot and I'm sorry but he's not.
The real story is that this is the woman he once credited with saving him during the darkest period of his life. They met when he was living out of a van, having been arrested around 40 times. She was a high-end escort earning eye-watering money.
Over the next decade, she stood beside him while he transformed his life. She became a devoted stepmother to his children, left sex work behind, built her own career and stuck around through the sort of chaos that would have most women quietly changing their numbers.
All of this is why finding out that he was the one leaving her just didn't seem right.
There's been talk that he 'found God' and they had 'communication problems,' all explanations celebrities use to keep private matters private.
But I suspect a lot of women looked at this situation and had the same deeply cynical thought I did. And it's something people don't like to admit.
I suspect a lot of women heard about Jelly Roll divorcing his gorgeous blonde wife Bunnie XO and had the same deeply cynical thought I did
Let's examine the facts here, something very much on the surface for all to see: The man lost a lot of weight. He started looking less like he needed saving and more like a man who had options. Suddenly, the wife who had been there for the van years was no longer part of the happy ending.
The 'Ozempic divorce' trend clearly isn't slowing down anytime soon.
Now, I am not saying every person who loses weight turns into a monster. Plenty of people simply become healthier and happier versions of themselves. I did. The physical transformation Mounjaro gave me helped me regain my confidence after years of feeling uncomfortable in my own skin.
But something terrifying happens when one person in a relationship suddenly becomes desirable in a way they perhaps weren't before.
It doesn't even have to be Ozempic. Jelly Roll insists he's never used the jab. But it can also be surgery, a new gym obsession, a facelift, a glow-up, sudden career success or finally becoming the sort of person who walks into a room and notices people noticing them.
The details vary, but the shift is the same. A person who once felt lucky to be loved starts behaving as though love is now something they can trade up. And the person who was abandoned soon discovers something far more humiliating than being dumped after a glow-up. It's wondering, 'Did they only stay because they didn't think they could do better?'
Ozempic breakups hit such a nerve because they tap into a very primal relationship panic. The fear that you might pour years of love, patience and emotional labor into someone while they are becoming the best version of themselves only for them to look around once they get there and decide you belong to the old life.
I know that feeling a little too well.
Years ago, I dated a rugby player who was desperately trying to break into the big league, and I was his biggest supporter. I would cheer him on during his (incredibly boring) games, help patch him back together after the endless injuries that came with his profession, juggle my life around his training schedule, and pay for far more than he ever did. Not that I minded because I loved his drive and absolutely adored him.
Then he made it. At first, I was thrilled for him because it's genuinely intoxicating to watch someone you love finally get what they have been chasing.
But the problem with some men is that when the world starts clapping for them, they forget who was clapping first.
Before long, he was off living his best Peter Pan fantasy, refusing to grow up, while I was left wondering whether men should come with warning labels attached. I still remember getting a Facebook message from a woman asking if I was still dating him because she had slept with him the night before after one of his away games.
Not only was I still dating him, I was living with him.
That was the final straw. The fame had gone to his head. His transformation wasn't physical, but it had the same effect. He gained status and suddenly became impressed with himself. The attention changed the way he saw the world and worse, it changed the way he saw me.
Jelly Roll lost a lot of weight recently before splitting from his wife
He first met Bunnie XO when he was living out of a van, having been arrested around 40 times
A similar thing happened to a reader who wrote to me recently.
Her husband lost nearly 80 pounds after being told he was heading toward serious health problems. At first, she was thrilled. He had more energy, slept better and seemed happier than he had been in years.
Then little things started changing. He suddenly became obsessed with buying new clothes. He joined a gym and began spending hours there every week. He started posting selfies online, something she swore he had mocked other people for doing throughout their entire marriage. Women began commenting on his photos. Nothing inappropriate, just enough for her to notice.
She wasn't worried about him cheating but that he seemed to be falling in love with a version of himself that had never existed before - and one she didn't necessarily love.
She said: 'He eventually left because he became convinced there was a bigger life waiting for him somewhere. I just happened to be part of the old one.'
To this day, she thinks weight loss gave him the confidence to finally admit he wanted something different.
For those worrying about being forgotten after a glow-up, pay close attention to how they speak about the life they had before the glow-up. If they talk about it with gratitude and a bit of humility, you're probably fine. But if they start acting as though everyone from the old chapter is beneath them, believe what you're seeing.
And to the Ozempic dumpees out there, of which there are many: Do not let their transformation convince you that you were the problem. If someone loses weight and immediately decides they are too good for the person who loved them before the world applauded, that is poor character and not a kind person.
No man should love you when he needs you and leave when he suddenly has options. It's important to remember exactly who was standing beside him before the world decided he was worth looking at.