For the first time since Lana Del Rey’s surprise nuptials on the Louisiana bayou, her former fiancé Clayton Johnson is opening up about seeing the “Summertime Sadness” singer walk down the aisle with another man.
In a candid appearance on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast released on April 22, 2026, the singer-songwriter admitted that while he is genuinely happy for his ex-fiancée, the reality of her marriage to alligator tour guide Jeremy Dufrene isn’t entirely painless.
Clayton Johnson Opens Up About Lana Del Rey’s Marriage and Their Past Engagement
Johnson, who was engaged to Del Rey in late 2020 before their split the following year, didn’t shy away from the complicated emotions of seeing a former partner find “the one.”
“Obviously, she’s married now. And I think that when you love somebody, and it comes from a pure place… for her to find her person and for her to be as happy as she is, like she is glowing, nothing could make me happier for her,” Johnson told hosts Charity Lawson and Rachel Recchia.
However, he quickly balanced that sentiment with a moment of raw honesty:
“It might sting a little bit, to be honest with you, but if you really love somebody in the purest form, how could you be upset at that?”
Reflecting on their whirlwind romance, which blossomed during the COVID-19 pandemic after they met through a dating app and reconnected at church, Johnson noted that their bond was rooted in shared visions of the future.
“We just really connected over what we wanted our futures to look like, old country music, and, yeah, what our futures look like to us,” he recalled. While that future ultimately led them in different directions, with Johnson recently appearing on The Bachelorette and Lana finding a home in Louisiana, he insisted he has “nothing but amazing things to say” about the star.
The New “Lanaverse”
Lana Del Rey married Jeremy Dufrene in September 2024, a move that shocked fans and headlines alike. Since the wedding, she has largely retreated from the Hollywood spotlight, opting for a quieter life in the South with Dufrene and his children.
For the “Lanaverse,” Johnson’s comments provide a rare, respectful closure to one of the singer’s most private eras. While the news of her marriage “stings” for a former flame, his testimony of her “glowing” happiness only confirms what fans have seen since the 2024 ceremony: Lana Del Rey has finally found her peace.