Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic

by Bunnie Xo

From the trailer parks of Vegas to the mansions of Nashville, Bunnie Xo has lived a lot of lives and seen the darkest sides of humanity. Her memoir, Stripped Unfiltered and Unapologetic, is cold, clear evidence that no one is irredeemable. With a heavy dose of humor and a refreshing sense of self-awareness, Bunnie pulls no punches as she shares her journey of redemption while offering some homespun wisdom to those who need a little saving themselves.

Alisa DeFord, known to her millions of fans as Bunnie Xo, started at the bottom and spent the first part of her life falling even deeper. Now, Bunnie Xo is one of today’s most successful podcasters and has paved her way through the entertainment industry as the owner of Dumb Blonde Productions, building an empire with heart and personality at the forefront. 

Stripped Down is the story of how Bunnie Xo rose to the top, how she used her own wiles to reach her goals, how she knew redemption was up to her—and that no one could hand it to her—and a message to anyone who needs advice on breaking their own cycles.

Hilarious, earnest, thought-provoking, and occasionally downright shocking, Stripped Down is a modern-day rag-to-riches story and a message of hope to anyone struggling to redeem themselves.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Biography Memoir, Autobiography, Addiction

304 pages, Hardcover

Published February 17, 2026

About the author

Alisa “Bunnie Xo” DeFord has been paving her way through the entertainment industry for years as the owner of Dumb Blonde Productions—building an empire from her various works hosting, producing digital content, and leading conversations with heart and personality at the forefront. Bunnie is most prominently known as the host of Dumb Blonde Podcast, a show that brings all walks of life to light. The podcast is a top-ranking show, #1 on Apple & #2 on Spotify comedy charts with over 1 million downloads a month, and is also one of the largest visual shows on Patreon. Born in Vegas, she now lives in Nashville on a hobby farm with her husband, award-winning musician Jelly Roll, and their children.

source: Amazon

Reviews

[Brandy Loper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent! I listed to the audio version, and so happy I did. Hearing Bunny’s voice as she read, you could feel her emotions. Listening to her choking up, and hear her sniffle had me in tears. Even listening to the acknowledgments had me in tears. She is an excellent writer, I hope she continues writing.

[Vicki B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stripped Down is a raw, unfiltered journey of self‑exploration, survival and transformation. I listened to the entire audiobook in one day because Bunnie’s voice and honesty pulled me in completely. She shares the trauma of her childhood — abandonment, SA, instability and being consistently overlooked — and the painful moments in her teens and adulthood that shaped her. She opens up about the struggles in her relationship with Jelly, the hard truths they faced, and how they rebuilt with honesty and commitment.

What moved me most was watching her grow into the woman she needed as a child: a steady mother figure for Bailee, a partner who shows up, and a woman who finally learns to show up for herself. Her story is heartbreaking, healing, and ultimately empowering. She doesn’t just survive — she rises.

[I v e t t e ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic by Bunnie XO is exactly what the title promises a raw, honest, and completely unfiltered memoir. Alisa (Bunnie XO) doesn’t shy away from any details. She owns her mistakes, embraces who she is, and never apologizes for it.

Listening to her narrate her own memoir adds an extra layer of impact, especially in the vulnerable & heartbreaking moments. She’s funny, she’s real, and she brings her story to life in a way that feels deeply personal.

I highly recommend the audiobook!

[Michelle Palmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have so many mixed emotions about this book. The story was good and solid. I struggle with the cavalier attitude towards sobriety and what comes across as arrogance of her spiritual development. I also don’t doubt her self awareness or growth but at times she still comes across as very angry and there are times when there is no accountability for her role in some of these situations. Overall I enjoyed reading it as it was a reminder of what happens in addiction & trauma.

[M W · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm only on chapter 10 and I'm struggling to get through it. I've always kinda liked Bunnie to some degree, more indifferent, didn't dislike her, watched some of her content.. now I very much dislike her.

This book comes across so self-righteous, arrogant, and zero accountability. The story jumps around, timeline doesn't always make sense and she contradicts herself. I have no doubt that her home life was toxic in certain ways and that's unacceptable for any parent, but a lot seems embellished to justify her poor behaviour and choices. She was beaten over and over by the step mom and aunt but no one saw bruises and said anything despite the uncle apparently being so great? They on/off switch nice to her but beat her as soon as they were alone? Sounds like a evil stepmother Disney movie that she watched too many times. I believe she's convinced herself this was reality so she can justify her choices, I'm just unsure if it's actual reality.

I think she was definitely neglected and craved attention that she didn't get. The whole back to back, 2 guys in a van try and kidnap her and then the milk a snake guy while she's playing on the boat in yard? No one notices these people in the yard? The blankets levitating ghost stuff, or the she felt herself get pregnant immediately and started gaining weight within what, 3 weeks... she sounds desperately in need of attention and not truthful, so I get why her parents mights not always have believed her.

The chicken cacciatore story of that was her stepmother being cruel by making her a very nice homemade lunch? At another point all in the same paragraph she says she had height on her, was strong, would fight boys, but then her mom lifted her off her feet and rammed her head through a door?? Is the stepmother a 6'2" built man? Did no one notice the busted door or cuts I would imagine to be on her face? The aunt trying to drown the half sister, I dunno... everything seems to be significantly embellished.

I don't think her parents were amazing, I think there are some aspects of truth to her stories, but I think a point came where they tried to clean up and do better.. like putting her in private schools, they not often but sometimes went on vacations, she played sports, she obviously had swimming lessons far enough to get her lifeguard certification as she talks about working as a lifeguard. At the moment I'm at the shoplifting stuff where she talks about it with pride and zero accountability. I don't know if I can finish this, my eyes hurt from rolling them so much. I thought I would empathize with her as I grew up with a lot of emotional neglect/abuse, and I was molested at 6 years old almost everyday for several months, but I don't empathize with her at all, instead all my flags are being raised that this whole book and her stories feel very off, untruthful and almost insulting.

I've kept reading and adding thoughts, not because the book is good, but because I'm truly in awe of how this got published with so many inconsistencies and blatant untruths (like the picture in the book of her with her mom, dad, and the dog - yet she clearly states several times in the book that her mom left when she was 3 months old and she never saw her again until she was 36)

Why am I still reading this awful book... is she completely delusional? She left home at 14, she was expelled, now she's 16 "on the streets" but staying at friends, she's back at the school she was expelled from?? She's pregnant again and felt it immediately at conception like the first time, goes back home, them taking her to hospital is just for show, now Tony took his own life because he couldn't get over their 16 year old teen pregnancy that she lost, and their breakup? Is she serious? Also, in most of her running away, "living life on the streets", she's staying with Stacy, who is her cousin... so she's staying at her aunts, who I'm sure is in contact with her father. This woman is so full of herself and full of shit!

She even tells on her own lies in the book, she clearly says in chapter 2 that her mom (Vanessa) left when she was 3 months old, then the 1 phone call when she was 8, then the AOL chat at 22... but in the pictures in her book there's one of Vanessa, Bill, herself and a dog.. and she sure isn't a 3 month old baby in that picture. Also, when she saw Vanessa at 36 she had no stove, gas, running water (shit in a bucket or something she said), but she had a computer with internet and found her magically on AOL?

I'm barely scratching the surface of all the contradicting bs in this book, this review would be as long as the book. Page 186 she says karma went to prison in Feb. 2016, she talks about still working with lawyers to get him out etc... then on page 197/198 she says it would take over a decade for the wounds to start to heal from that relationship... umm can she do math? Feb. 2026.. this year is exactly a decade. What is she talking about, over a decade...

Who is actually believing her version of events? Who edited this book? It's so bad. I really regret buying this and giving my money to support her in any way. She is the same person she always was, hasn't changed. The way she's proud of stealing from stores and clients, she stole from us selling a story that she had changed but her attitude in this book proves she hasn't. She's a lying, immature, shit human. This book is going straight where it belongs... the trash.

[Karol · Rating 5 out of 5]

RESILIENCE—RECOVERY—TRIUMPH

Bunnie spent the majority of her life going through the shit mill.

Her story brought back traumatic memories of my childhood and reminded me of the hell a friend of mine went through too. We found ways to cope, support and move forward.

I know of Bunnie XO and Jelly Roll simply by reading celebrity articles about them. I haven’t tuned into her podcast or listened to his music, yet.

Well written, heartbreaking with a happy ending.

[Em Keeler · Rating 2 out of 5]

First thing always first - CHECK. TRIGGER. WARNINGS. Lots of them for this book.

Now. I always struggle to rate a memoir poorly because it's THEIR story to tell... However, similar to other celebrity memoirs written seemingly "too soon" after/in pain (see also: not healed but I say I am/I act self-aware, but I still deeply need more therapy), it's very self-righteous and hard to read. You can share your real raw struggles (done fabulously in this book) without claiming to now have it all together (done constantly in this book).

Also. Your life is tragic enough you don't need to embellish stories for shock value. You don't remember what your mom looks like from when you were 3 months old, and you didn't get depression from touching a dead person. Let's just, stop. Ok thanks, had to let that out. Phew.

[Sarah Teters · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate only giving this book a 2/5 stars because who am I to “rate” someone’s retelling of their lives, especially whenever it is full of heartbreak, trauma, abuse, and violence? I will say that I give her a 5/5 stars for her honesty, her resilience, and her strength. There were a couple things that bothered me, the story jumped around a lot and at times were hard to follow. I think she is still healing and it’s very obvious in this book. At times it feels like a self help book more than an autobiography and if that is what she was aiming for, that’s great. It just felt like it didn’t stick with a genre and was a little chaotic. I still love her though and will continue to follow her journey!

[Randi Himes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bunnie is an amazing example of "do whatever the fuck it takes to survive".

She didn't dwell on the shit hand she was dealt; she adapted and kept on. That is a quality everyone needs to have...She deserves every ounce of the love she and Jelly have created.

[Jessica Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love Bunnie, you’ll love this truly Unapologetic and Unfiltered story. There were no bars held with this one. Bunnie had me laughing, crying, and wanting to stand next to her ready to defend her. Whatever you thought you knew about Bunnie, this sheds more light on how she became the truly amazing person she is today.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh thank god that’s over. It’s not that it was bad. I truly do like Bunnie and Jelly and I had a pretty good grasp on the depravity of her story prior to reading the book. No part of it came as a huge shock to me. I also realize I chose to read the book, no one made me. I actually listened to it on audible and Bunnie narrated it herself which I thought was great. Obviously she’s not a writer. There was a lot of inconsistencies and fragments along the story. We’d be on one path and abruptly end up somewhere else without explanation and that was a bit of a struggle. As far as the story itself, I get that it was something she needed to tell for herself and we all anted to hear it out of morbid curiosity. But did it really need to be told? Apart from her upbringing which was truly deplorable, Bunnie did all of this to herself and I don’t think we needed to feel sorry for her. I’m proud of her self awareness and ability to turn her life around and also fight for her marriage, I know how hard that is to do. I do like her, but the book was underwhelming, uncomfortable, and hard d to get through. Unpopular opinion.

[Cayla Brett · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I would have counted the times this book stated, “& to this day.” While I am grateful that Bunnie has published her story and truly hope that it helps people, this book is written like a middle school diary and was a struggle to finish.

[Reading Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book! I saw so much of myself in Bunnie even though we are so different. I'm a plain Jain who desires to be a librarian and Bunnie is a beautiful woman who can light up a room but it doesn't matter...were one in the same and that's Women, women that have been abused and addicted and survived. We both fought our whole lives in some way or other and we're both still here because God said I'm not done with you yet. Bunnie XO I love you and I see you and you are dear, precious and worthy.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m typically a sucker for a memoir read by the author (audio) but this one didn’t work for me. I actually think hearing it in Bunny’s voice brings the book down a full star for me. Maybe this is because she has that millennial sound that influences use when speaking…you know the one. Or maybe I just didn’t find her authentic?? Either way I should have walked away from this book a couple of chapters in or maybe just switched to the print version. It didn’t work for me.

[Devra Hampton · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is an example of how anyone in America can make money. I should be surprised about how anyone thought this girl had an interesting story to tell but I’m not. She made money selling herself to men and then telling a story of how the biggest example of trash can make it big.
This book is filled with exaggerated stories about a shitty life where she made all the decisions. She didn’t have an anxiety attack that caused her to be hospitalized. She didn’t jog around a hotel room for hours because of high anxiety. Jelly Roll has never been “chubby”. That man has been disgustingly obese for most of his life and has probably paid for any sex he has ever had. She literally compares prostitution to being an actress….sorry girl sex work does not take talent and is not a career. Oh, and if it was possible for a woman to know they were pregnant the instant a man finished or shortly after, a lot of companies wouldn’t be in business. Ridiculous.
Textbook example of someone complaining about how terrible their life is and admit in the same sentence she is the reason behind it all. This woman was selling herself for money while being married. That is not marriage. Also, it’s filled with talk of spirits, ghosts, feeling energy, “my truth”, and “falling in love with myself.” Absolute ignorance. But hey, she’s still making money so I guess anyone can make it big.

[Jennifer Serna · Rating 2 out of 5]

My heart breaks for her childhood but I just find her inauthentic

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was written so well! My heart hurts for all that Bunnie went through, but I’m glad she shared her story and seems to have found peace now. She took every single lesson that life gave her and turned it into empathy, understanding and a desire to protect herself and her peace.
I also can’t wait to see the movie adaptation (whenever that comes out)!

[Jessie Brunink · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you listen to her podcast-you have already got this whole story. I did appreciate her reading it as it added emotion. And the message in the end was heartfelt. Just disappointed that there wasn’t anymore storyline that what the world has already heard if your an avid listener.

[Casey Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was decent. Some of it was repetitive.Found myself saying yea right a lot.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best memoirs I've ever read. It's real, raw, and heartbreaking. My heart broke at her childhood. I firmly believe some women are going to be saved from this book. I'm here for it.

[Sheryce Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok so my review is absolutely honest because unlike a lot of these reviews I was not a huge Bunnie fan. Now, I say that lightly because I do listen to her podcast. Not because I love her but because I do think she’s an empathetic journalist. I know some people might not see her as a journalist but she does a lot of research prior to guests and she seems to always ask the right questions.

I am so far from being like bunny, I’m a tomboy, I hate rich men, I don’t like that look, being in Playboy never appealed to me. In other words we are total opposites, or so I thought.

From page one until the end her life and my life had so many parallels. Not exact situations but the feelings behind those situations were much like mine. Guilt, shame, independence, toxic relationships, addiction, anxiety, depression, chaos, mommy issues, daddy issues, resilience, independence, etc etc. When I stopped comparing and started identifying with her story I was able to see the strength and determination in her life but also IN MINE! Inspiring book to say the least. Not to be cliche but Bunnie and this book prove you can NEVER judge a book by its cover. The only reason why it’s not a 5 star review is because I only give 5’s to the greats. (Example: Toni Morrison) I will read or listen to anything Bunnie does because one way or another I will be able to learn something about myself or this world. ❤️❤️❤️

[Sheila The Reader]

I’ve always been a little intrigued by Bunnie XO anytime I’ve caught snippets of her Dumb Blonde podcast or seen her pop up on social media. And honestly, I can’t fully explain why because she’s about as opposite from me as you can get. But there’s just something about her that pulls me in. I think it comes down to her honesty. The way she owns her story, her trauma, her mistakes. She’s unapologetically herself, and that’s hard not to respect.

Going into this, I didn’t know much about her beyond being an entrepreneur in her own right and married to Jelly Roll. I don’t even really listen to his music, so this wasn’t coming from a place of being a fan. I was just curious. And I’m really glad I picked it up on audio because hearing her tell her own story added so much.

This is not an easy listen. Not even a little bit. Her life story is full of things that are genuinely hard to sit with… drugs, violence, predation, sex work, instability, all of it. It’s very raw and very unfiltered. There were moments where you could actually hear the emotion in her voice, especially when she was revisiting some of the more traumatic parts of her life.

What really stuck with me though is how much this felt like a story of what happens when a child isn’t protected by the people who should protect them. It reminded me a lot of Nobody’s Girl by Virginia Giuffre in that way. Bunnie was put in situations she never should have been in, and her beauty, instead of being something positive, often brought the wrong kind of attention and led to even more harm.

And yet, somehow, she’s come out on the other side of all of that with a surprising amount of compassion. That was something I struggled to fully wrap my head around. There were so many moments where I thought, I would have completely cut these people off. But she doesn’t. She still holds space for them in a way that feels almost hard to understand unless you’ve lived a life like hers. Maybe it’s because she’s so open about her own flaws that it’s made her more accepting of everyone else’s.

At the end of the day, this was a really interesting read for me. It’s not going to be for everyone, and it definitely comes with a long list of trigger warnings. This is not one for the pearl clutchers. But I was completely pulled in and ended up finishing the audiobook in about 24 hours.

[Heather Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ I hate rating a biography. I don’t really think it’s fair to rate a persons lived experiences. What I will say is this … I didn’t enjoy this book and the way it was written. Bunnies life is shocking enough, it felt like it was trying too hard to be over the top and kept describing things for the “shock factor”. I get this is her thing… but it missed the mark for me. Things were commented on in a really vulgar and abrupt way. I am no prude at all. But it took away from her lived experiences for me because I was distracted by how she said things, instead of focusing on what she said. It gave me the ick. I thought things could have been communicated in a different way. She’s lived a wild life. I expected the book to discuss that. It just … missed the mark on how things were said. I also didn’t connect with the spirituality aspect of this book.
I will say…I listened to the audiobook so hearing those things instead of reading them could have impacted this.

[Kayla Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated by Bunnie and Jelly Roll. I started out listening to Bunnies podcast a few years ago and I was so excited to hear she had a book coming out. This was the most raw and at times, gut wrenching book. I found myself shaking my head, stopping and taking in the trauma she just stated, and some times, just reflecting on how grateful I should be for never having to experience some of the things she went through. Such a beautiful story, Bunnie! I loved every bit of it.

[Joanna Flanigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a HUGE fan of Bunnie but her story telling is really great! She definitely has a crazy story to tell! It’s amazing where she is at in life from where she came from and went through. I am glad I read this and excited to see who will play her in the movie!

[Caitie Lavigne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking at times but highlighted lots of struggles and growth, quick read!

[Malinda Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved Bunnie, her book just sealed the deal for me. She honestly is just true. Honest about herself.

[De Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is raw emotional Bunnie style. I’m so glad to have read this. She’s done it classy from start to finish or I should say current chapter of her life quickly and with only 32 chapters. she’s done more in this book than authors who have been seasoned can do so proud of you.

PS I use voice to text as I put my child to sleep. I have no desire to go back and edit this deal with that.

[Char · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just goes to show you can go thru the worst but God will still be there and you can still succeed.

[Amybeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just WHOA 🤯