Bunnie XO Recalls 'Death Scare' Being Misdiagnosed with Brain Aneurysm: 'I Cried for 3 Days'

Mar. 15, 2025

Podcaster and model Bunnie XO.Photo:Taylor Hill/WireImage

Taylor Hill/WireImage

Bunnie Xo shared on a recent episode of herDumb Blondepodcast that she was misdiagnosed with an aneurysm, calling it a “death scare"The model, whose mother survived a ruptured aneurysm, called it “one of her biggest fears"She shared that the misdiagnosis shifted her perception on lifeModel and podcasterBunnie Xoshared a recent, and devastating, health scare — or as she called it, a “death scare.”On the Aug. 8 episode of herDumb Blondepodcast, the 44-year-old shared that she’d been struggling with headaches, which prompted her to seek medical care.“I noticed that it was kinda, like, after I would eat certain foods. I don’t know if it was, like, high in salts or something because I don’t eat bad.”She added, “I literally live a very f—ing boring life and diet because I’m trying so hard to just rewind all the … drug-induced trauma I did to my body, and alcohol trauma I did to my body growing up.”Both Bunnie and her husband, country starJelly Roll, have been open about theirrecovery journeys.Jelly Roll with Bunnie Xo in Nashville in June 2024.John Shearer/GettyBunnie (real name: Alyssa DeFord) said she’s always had a fear of aneurysms. “My mom had an aneurysm, and it ruptured. And she almost died.”As theMayo Clinicexplains, an aneurysm “is a bulge or ballooning in a blood vessel in the brain. An aneurysm often looks like a berry hanging on a stem.”The clinic adds, “a ruptured aneurysm is a very serious condition, typically causing a severe headache.”“I’ve been getting MRIs done on my head since I was a f—ing teenager,” Bunnie shared, adding that when her friend sent her a TikTok about aneurysms, “my body reacted to that TikTok crazily.”“I might have accidentally manifested it because I had a panic attack,” she said, adding that she reached out to her doctor at 2 a.m. to get an MRI and find the source of her headaches.But the results came in and she was told, “They think they might have found an aneurysm on your carotid artery.”Bunnie called it “one of my biggest fears coming to fruition.”“I’m in a higher percentile of rupturing because my mom had one,” she said, and theNational Institue of Healthconfirms that “a family history of aneurysm rupture suggests a higher risk of rupture for aneurysms detected in family members.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“There was just so many things that went through my mind. And I instantly just hit my knees and started praying. I bawled my eyes out. I cried so hard, I pulled a muscle in my neck,” she said. “I cried for three days.”“And I can’t sleep. I haven’t slept. I’m sweating so bad. I have diarrhea. I’m just, like, so freaked out and stressed out,” she said, sharing that she went in for another scan.This time, the results, she said, were “a two-millimeter aneurysm on your carotid artery,” which are a pair of arteries located on the either side of the neck.Bunnie Xo speaks on her podcast, ‘Dumb Blonde’.Bunnie xo/InstagramBunnie said she went in to see a neurologist, and that’s when she got the news that it, in fact, wasn’t an aneurysm.“He said, ‘I wish you had an aneurysm so I could fix your headaches.’ And I was just like, ’Hey, homie. Slow your roll.’ I was like, ‘I’m good.’ “She also followed up with a vascular surgeon, who said, “There is nothing wrong with you.”Bunnie was told, “ ‘I am clearing you.' He said, ‘It’s a blood vessel that matches on the other side of your carotid artery on the other end.’ And he said, ‘This was just one of these things where I get to deliver good news.’ He said, ‘If you wanna go play tackle football, you can.’ ”“So that was how the last, you know, eight days of my life have been, guys. And I just wanna tell you that it made me appreciate life so much. And, like, I know it sounds dramatic, but … it just really made me realize that, like, none of this s— f—ing matters, man.““Family and the people that you love and the people that you surround yourself with every day is all that f—ing matters, dude,” she said, adding, “I snuggled up so much to my husband these past few days.”

Model and podcasterBunnie Xoshared a recent, and devastating, health scare — or as she called it, a “death scare.”

On the Aug. 8 episode of herDumb Blondepodcast, the 44-year-old shared that she’d been struggling with headaches, which prompted her to seek medical care.

“I noticed that it was kinda, like, after I would eat certain foods. I don’t know if it was, like, high in salts or something because I don’t eat bad.”

She added, “I literally live a very f—ing boring life and diet because I’m trying so hard to just rewind all the … drug-induced trauma I did to my body, and alcohol trauma I did to my body growing up.”

Both Bunnie and her husband, country starJelly Roll, have been open about theirrecovery journeys.

Jelly Roll with Bunnie Xo in Nashville in June 2024.John Shearer/Getty

John Shearer/Getty

Bunnie (real name: Alyssa DeFord) said she’s always had a fear of aneurysms. “My mom had an aneurysm, and it ruptured. And she almost died.”

As theMayo Clinicexplains, an aneurysm “is a bulge or ballooning in a blood vessel in the brain. An aneurysm often looks like a berry hanging on a stem.”

The clinic adds, “a ruptured aneurysm is a very serious condition, typically causing a severe headache.”

“I’ve been getting MRIs done on my head since I was a f—ing teenager,” Bunnie shared, adding that when her friend sent her a TikTok about aneurysms, “my body reacted to that TikTok crazily.”

“I might have accidentally manifested it because I had a panic attack,” she said, adding that she reached out to her doctor at 2 a.m. to get an MRI and find the source of her headaches.

But the results came in and she was told, “They think they might have found an aneurysm on your carotid artery.”

Bunnie called it “one of my biggest fears coming to fruition.”

“I’m in a higher percentile of rupturing because my mom had one,” she said, and theNational Institue of Healthconfirms that “a family history of aneurysm rupture suggests a higher risk of rupture for aneurysms detected in family members.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“There was just so many things that went through my mind. And I instantly just hit my knees and started praying. I bawled my eyes out. I cried so hard, I pulled a muscle in my neck,” she said. “I cried for three days.”

“And I can’t sleep. I haven’t slept. I’m sweating so bad. I have diarrhea. I’m just, like, so freaked out and stressed out,” she said, sharing that she went in for another scan.

This time, the results, she said, were “a two-millimeter aneurysm on your carotid artery,” which are a pair of arteries located on the either side of the neck.

Bunnie Xo speaks on her podcast, ‘Dumb Blonde’.Bunnie xo/Instagram

Bunnie xo/Instagram

Bunnie said she went in to see a neurologist, and that’s when she got the news that it, in fact, wasn’t an aneurysm.

“He said, ‘I wish you had an aneurysm so I could fix your headaches.’ And I was just like, ’Hey, homie. Slow your roll.’ I was like, ‘I’m good.’ “

She also followed up with a vascular surgeon, who said, “There is nothing wrong with you.”

Bunnie was told, “ ‘I am clearing you.' He said, ‘It’s a blood vessel that matches on the other side of your carotid artery on the other end.’ And he said, ‘This was just one of these things where I get to deliver good news.’ He said, ‘If you wanna go play tackle football, you can.’ ”

“So that was how the last, you know, eight days of my life have been, guys. And I just wanna tell you that it made me appreciate life so much. And, like, I know it sounds dramatic, but … it just really made me realize that, like, none of this s— f—ing matters, man.“

“Family and the people that you love and the people that you surround yourself with every day is all that f—ing matters, dude,” she said, adding, “I snuggled up so much to my husband these past few days.”

source: people.com