Jelly Roll had a difficult road to fatherhood after becoming a dad when he was still in jail.
The country singer, 40, was just 23 years old when his daughter, Bailee Ann, was born and he learned of her birth while incarcerated for drug-related offenses.
Appearing on the latest episode of the Smartless podcast, Jelly Roll revealed he had a long battle to gain visitation and build a relationship with his now-16-year-old daughter.
"I got home when she was almost two," he recalled. "Her mother, at the time, because I was rightfully so a [expletive] criminal, wouldn't let me see her. So, I had to go to court. I had to get supervised visits through the courtroom."
He 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.'"
He added: "Music, like being famous, wasn't even a thought then. I just wanted to be a good dad."
© Getty ImagesHis perseverance paid off and Jelly Roll and Bailee Ann have a close relationship today, with the singer gaining full custody of her in 2017 after her mother, Felicia, battled with drug addiction.
Sharing his pride over Bailee Ann's personal growth, Jelly Roll explained: "Fast forward, that same little girl that was born when I was incarcerated is fixing to turn 17 years old.
© Instagram"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."
The singer previously called his daughter's birth a "road to Damascus" moment as it "inspired him to change" his ways.
© Getty Images"A guard knocks on my cell door midafternoon during lockdown. He goes, 'You had a kid today,'" he recalled to Billboard. "I've never had nothing in life that urged me in the moment to know that I had to do something different. I have to figure this out right now."
While Bailee Ann lives with her dad and stepmom, Bunnie Xo, she and her mom are working to mend their relationship amidst her recovery journey.
© Instagram"I had an extra, interesting, traumatic childhood. Bunnie did, my dad did. They're important reasons for why my mom is in my life now and is sober," Bailee Ann said during an appearance on her dad’s Hulu documentary, Jelly Roll: Save Me.
"As a teenager, I've moved on. I've worked through my childhood. But that doesn't make it go away. It made me who I am today."
© TikTokBailee Ann is also very close to Bunnie Xo, who helped her husband get custody, and he has raved about her involvement in his daughter's life.
"It takes a special kind of woman to raise a kid that isn't her child and still treat the child as if she was," he said in 2020.
"You are the epitome of a good mom and deserve more credit than anyone because you didn't have to step up to the plate the way you did. You chose to step up and man you have knocked it out of the park. Thank you Mama Bear — we love you."
