Jelly Roll's Heartbreaking Confession: Singer Could 'Feel Himself Dying' Before Drastic 300-Pound Weight Loss

Jelly Roll felt himself wasting away at over 500 pounds.

During the Wednesday, December 10, episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the country star, 41, admitted he was tapping on death’s door. The musician — whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord — knew he had to make a change if he wanted to survive.

"I don't think I'm making this up when I say I think I was six to 12 months away from missing it," he told host Joe Rogan. "Especially traveling – you know, I travel 280 days a year. At 500-something pounds, 200-something flights a year, 250 flights a year?...I wasn't going to be able to do it, I knew it."

DeFord began to lose hope as his weight cut into his quality of life. He wasn’t able to throw a football with his son, nor was he able to get aroused in the bedroom with wife Bunnie XO.

"I never planned on living, Joe," he spilled. "Like, ever. It was never in my plan of life. Even as I was getting successful, like I was coming out here and life was getting good for me, and in my mind, I was like, ‘OK, good, at least when I die my kids might be OK, and they won’t be ashamed of me … at least their daddy died of obesity because he had mental health issues, but he was a cool f------ dude, man, who did some cool stuff,' you know?"

As DeFord’s 40th birthday approached, he started to seriously consider shedding pounds..

"I knew my next one was 40 … I don't think I've ever met a 500-pound 40-year-old…” he pointed out. "I was like, ‘Man, I should really start trying to figure this out’ … I could feel myself dying, Joe.”

The singer revealed he’s “been trying to lose this weight my whole life” but hadn’t been successful. He shifted his perspective this time, viewing overeating as “a biological loop that I didn’t know how to interrupt.”

"I spent most of 2022 between 480 and 560 pounds," he explained. "That's how much I fluctuated in a year, just up and down."

DeFord’s new wellness routine includes cold plunges and taking over 10,000 steps per day.

His loved ones have been his biggest support system, particularly during his long walks.

"I realized then how much my addiction had been hurting this family,” the award-winning artist revealed.

During an April appearance on Pat McAfee’s Big Night AHT live show, DeFord revealed he had lost 183 pounds.

“It looks like you’ve lost a person,” McAfee quipped.

"I started at 540 pounds. I’m 357 pounds this morning, baby!" the “Wild Ones” singer exclaimed.