Jelly Roll Completes 5K Race That Inspired Weight Loss Journey and Celebrates With Wife Bunnie XO

He did it! Jelly Roll successfully completed the 5K race that inspired him to begin a weight loss journey earlier this year. The country singer ran the 2 Bears 5K at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Tuesday, May, 7.

Photos showed Jelly – whose real name is Jason DeFord – at the starting and finish line of the race. By the end of the run, he received a medal for completing the mission. He then celebrated by taking an ice bath and was joined by his wife, Bunnie XO, for the plunge.

The podcast host shared a video of the sweet moment on Instagram and revealed that she also participated in the race. “The couples that finish the 5k together, cold plunge together,” Bunnie, 44, wrote in text over the clip. She also captioned her post, “What a beautiful day w/ beautiful ppl! So proud of my baby doing the 5k & losing 50 lbs to do it!”

Jelly Roll, 39, previously revealed that he had actually lost “70-something pounds” while training for the 5K. “I’ve been really kicking ass, man,” he told People in April. “I’m doing two to three miles a day, four to six days a week. I’m doing 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna, six minutes in a cold plunge every day. I’m eating healthy right now.”

The “Save Me” singer decided to sign up for the 2 Bears 5K after appearing on the “Full Send” podcast in January 2024. He admitted that his main reason for wanting to participate in the event was to lose weight while training.

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“I couldn’t walk a mile when I started trying to do this back in January,” Jelly told Entertainment Tonight after completing the run. “So the fact that we got 3-point-whatever it was, got it down, I felt really, really good about.” Although he was “tired” after the race, which he said “was a little bit harder” than he expected, Jelly said the experience was “awesome.”

Throughout his country music career, Jelly Roll has been open about his weight loss journey, which began after a 2015 doctor’s visit when he found out he weighed 500-plus pounds. Finishing the race isn’t the end of the road for the Grammy nominee, as previously he said he hopes to lose another “100-and-something” pounds before going on tour at the end of summer.

He also has big plans for the future and declared after the race, “Next year, [I’m doing] a half marathon! We’re saying it now. Absolutely!”