Jelly Roll’s daughter surprises him with the prom he never had

Jelly Roll‘s birthday was Thursday, and his daughter, Bailee DeFord, gave him and his wife, Bunnie Xo, a gift they’ll never forget.

Bunnie posted an Instagram video documenting the surprise. She wrote over the footage, “I learned a powerful lesson as a parent this week. Bailee has always hated school dances. But because J and I never went to ours, we’ve always pushed her: ‘Go make memories. Go have the experiences we missed.'”

“This year has been heavy — schedules, mental health, burnout…all of it,” she went on. “We’ve kept to ourselves, and we hate surprises. So when Bailee texted saying she had one for us, I spiraled. Especially after we swore there’d be no surprises for J’s birthday. But we showed up for our girl anyway…even with tired hearts.”

In the video, we see that Bailee has arranged a mock prom for the couple. They arrive all dressed up and walk into a space filled with family and friends, decorations and music.

“What we walked into stopped us in our tracks … a night she called ‘Under the Stars,'” Bunnie wrote. “A prom/birthday party she created for us. She crowned us King and Queen, and we danced and sang like teenagers who finally got their moment.”

In the video, Jelly and Bunnie are seen slow-dancing to the song “Uneven Trade” by the group Sunday Best.

“All because our baby wanted us to smile,” she added. “She did it all herself & didn’t miss one detail.” 

Bunnie then shared the lesson she learned: “Time is the most precious thing we own. Spend it on your people. The memories you make with them will outlive everything else.”