Jeremy Dufrene’s ex-fiancée revealed that his wedding to Lana Del Rey took her by surprise and she only found out she had tied the knot when she was shown photos the next morning.
The singer-songwriter, 39, married the 49-year-old alligator guide in an intimate waterside ceremony in Des Allemandes, Louisiana, on Thursday, just a month after the couple went public with their romance and five years after that they met. .
Kelli Welsh, 45, who was engaged to Dufrene for 12 years before they split in October 2023, told DailyMail.com she was “shocked” at how quickly they said: “I do.”
“I’m shocked because we were engaged for 12 years and he got married after a month,” she said.
But I’m happy for him. He is a very protective, hard-working and manly man. He needed to get out of his comfort zone. He was used to life in the swamps and being in the swamp. He is worthy of this blessing.”
Jeremy Dufrene’s ex-fiancée Kelli Welsh revealed she was caught off guard and only found out about his wedding to Lana Del Rey when she was shown photos the next morning.
The singer, 39, married the 49-year-old alligator guide by the water in Des Allemandes, Louisiana, on Thursday, just a month after the couple went public with their romance.
Welsh and Dufrene began dating as teenagers, when she was 16 and he was 19, but they broke up after a year.
He then married his first wife, Gina, with whom he has three sons, Dillon and Conner, and daughter Kadence.
A year after her marriage ended, she rekindled with Welsh in 2011, having maintained contact over the years.
He proposed in 2012, but the teenage sweethearts never married and finally split last October. Dufrene also raised Welsh’s daughter, Alana, now 20, as her own. She still lives with him, while Welsh now resides in Texas.
“I will say that he really seems happy with her,” she said. And she does it with him, which is nice to see. It’s not fake happiness: he really is in love with her.
Welsh said he still cares “deeply” about Dufrene, who “deserves” to find happiness.
“He’s always been a giver, so if someone gives it to him, he deserves it,” she continued. ‘He’s a very solid guy.
‘I care deeply about him as a friend. His ability to love, care for and protect people makes him very attractive.”
Kelli Welsh, 45, who was engaged to Dufrene for 12 years before they split in October 2023, told DailyMail.com she was “shocked” at how quickly they said: “I do.”
Welsh said he still cares “deeply” about Dufrene, who “deserves” to find happiness (pictured with Del Rey on one of her tours).
Dufrene pictured with Welsh’s daughter Alana, 20, who lives with him in the childhood home he rebuilt.
Lana went public with her relationship with Jeremy on August 25, when the couple was seen holding hands and having a romantic dinner together in London after performing at the Leeds Festival.
The couple then attended Karen Elson’s wedding earlier this month alongside Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
On Monday, TMZ reported that the unlikely couple had obtained a marriage license.
On Thursday, her father, Robert Grant, walked Del Rey down the aisle in the same swamp where Dufrene operates his popular swamp boat tours.
The Summertime Sadness singer, whose fortune is estimated at $30 million, looked ethereal in a white wedding dress with a billowing skirt as she carried a small bouquet.
Dufrene traded in his trucker cap for a black suit, white dress shirt and brown leather shoes.
The newlyweds met when she performed at Buku Music + Art Project in Louisiana in March 2019. She attended one of his tours and shared a photo of him kissing an alligator.
At the time, both Del Rey and Dufrene, co-owner of Airboat Tours by Arthur, were in a relationship.
Dufrene (pictured with her Welsh ex) and Del Rey have known each other since 2019, when she booked an alligator boat tour and shared a photo.
DailyMail.com previously revealed that the Grammy nominee didn’t immediately reveal who she was to Dufrene because she found it “refreshing” that he had “no idea” who she was.
DailyMail.com previously revealed that the Grammy nominee didn’t immediately reveal who she was to Dufrene because she found it “refreshing” that the alligator enthusiast “had no idea” who she was.
The source said: “When Lana visited the area again in May to perform at Hangout Fest, they were both single and reconnected.”
‘He saw his golden opportunity and asked her out and they have been together ever since. She loves older men.
Her relationship with Dufrene initially worried friends who were convinced they would discover something suspicious about the divorced father of four.
But they soon realized that he treats her well and gives her what she “needs” in a partner.
Del Rey dated Live PD hunk Sean Larkin, 52, after her first meeting with Dufrene.
She then began dating Clayton Johnson, to whom she became engaged, before calling it off.
She was then rumored to be having affairs with Salem rocker Jack Donoghue and, more recently, musician Evan Winiker.