In what just might be one of my favourite pop culture stories of the year, singer/icon Lana Del Rey has married an alligator swamp tour guide.
Honestly, why the hell not?
According to Daily Mail, “The unlikely couple exchanged vows by the water in Des Allemandes, Louisiana — the same bayou where Dufrene (the groom) operates his popular swamp boat tours,” a sentence that makes me both laugh out loud and want to shed a single tear.
While the couple only went public a month ago (delighting the internet), Lana and Jeremy Dufrene go back as far as 2019, at least according to a Facebook post the singer published in March that year.
There was also an Instagram post back in March this year. While the photo features her two siblings, the caption tags Jeremy and refers to him as her “guy”, but it was too subtle for the world to consider as a hard launch.
In August, Lana and her then “mystery man” were spotted holding hands at Reading and Leeds Festival and outed by a fan on TikTok, and it didn’t take long for fans to uncover his identity.
There was even a weird moment when a woman claiming to be Jeremy’s daughter tweeted about the pair, though she later clarified it was just a joke (after Lana jumped online to confirm it wasn’t Jeremy’s daughter, and didn’t find it particularly funny).
Many consider the papped pics from Backgrid USA weeks later of the couple at a friend’s wedding to be their official debut.
People confirmed that the couple obtained a wedding licence on September 23rd, just three days before saying “I do” at, I repeat, “the same bayou where Dufrene operates his popular swamp boat tours.” Sorry but Lana is such a real one for that. Like, the woman is one of the most successful and glamorous women in the music industry and she chose to get married at a swamp.
That’s true love?!?!? And actually, quite Shrek and Fiona coded.
While Lana stans are delighted their queen found love in a hopeless place, one woman who is grappling with the news of the nuptials is Jeremy’s ex-fiance, Kelli Welsh.
In a Daily Mail exclusive, Kelli told the publication that she was “completely blindsided” by the wedding, learning that her ex had tied the knot along with the rest of the world via headlines.
“I am in shock because we were engaged for 12 years, and he got married after one month,” she shared. “But I am happy for him. He is a very protective, hardworking, manly man. He needed to get out of his comfort zone. He was used to bayou life and being out on the swamp. He is deserving of this blessing.”
Can we take a minute to acknowledge how fucking gracious this woman is being? If I’d been engaged for 12 years to someone who turned around and married one of the most famous singers in the world within weeks, I’d be drowning him in the swamp.
It should also be noted that Jeremy is a father, with “two daughters and a son from a previous relationship,” according to People. That’s right, Lana is now officially a step-mum. Imagine.
For a woman who for years has lyrically pondered the concepts of love, masculinity/femininity and life as an American, it feels correct to Lana has found her forever love in a rugged older man living a simple life on the water.
Big ol’ congrats to the happy couple.
Written by Lil Friedmann who is now building out a “bayou wedding” Pinterest board. You can follow her at @lilfriedmann on socials.
Image credit: @honeymoon + Punkee
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