My friends hate my bf

Okay so I have a problem. My boyfriend has a criminal past and has been to jail. I don't care about that and to me he is super sweet, although he can be a bit over-protective sometimes. Because he has been to jail some times, he doesn't have many friends left. We are together for 3 months now, and most of my friends are afraid of him, or afraid for me he will harm me. In the past my bf was a bit controlling and manipulative towards me, but we spoke about that and now he changed his ways.But I don't really know how to handle this situation. My life with my friends and my life with my bf are becoming more and more seperate lives.  For example: my bf rented a house in the woods to stay over at during NYE. There is space for 4 more people, but nobody of my friends wants to come with because my bf is coming. I don't know how to tell this to my bf, and I am quite disappointed in my friends.I am afraid if things continue to go this way, I'll loose both my friends and my boyfriend eventually.What would you do in my situation?