Her father Robert Grant walked her down the “aisle” – aka a dusty gravel-and-grass track – beside the water.
Dufrene’s rickety boat, stationed nearby, was whimsically decorated with white flowers and foliage.
Despite the incongruous setting, but firmly in keeping with her usual romantic style, Del Rey wore an elaborate floor-length white dress with a ruffled neckline and long flowing train. She styled her curly hair in a chic side ponytail, adding a blue satin ribbon for her “something blue” and carried a large bouquet of flowers.
Dufrene wore a three-piece, black tie dinner suit (though left his collar open) and brown leather shoes. He accessorised with a pocket watch – perhaps a nod to Del Rey’s love of vintage.
Guests, including Del Rey’s sister Caroline Grant and brother Charlie Hill-Grant, then gathered for a reception under large white tents erected in the corner of the public harbour.
Her mother Patricia Ann Hill is not visible in pictures, but may also have been in attendance, though the pair are thought to be estranged.
This extremely unlikely relationship between a Hollywood-dwelling indie-music darling – who is worth US$30 million ($47.7 million) – and a southern boat captain began in March 2019.
Del Rey took one of Dufrene’s guided trips (he works for the company Arthur’s Airboat Tours) while she was performing at a festival nearby: the BUKU Music + Art Project.
Del Rey captioned a Facebook image of herself steering the boat, with Dufrene’s help: “Jeremy lemme be captain at Arthur’s AirBoat Tours.”
“I never know who I can run across on my tours but always a pleasure @lanadelrey,” he wrote online afterwards. A source close to Del Rey explained: “She wanted to go on a boat tour because it’s a big thing in Louisiana, but she never expected to fall for a gator boat captain.”
However, before settling down with Dufrene, Del Rey first went on to have a string of other romantic relationships – including with reality TV star Sean Larkin, musician Clayton Johnson, who she was reportedly briefly engaged to, plus musicians Jack Donaghue and Evan Winiker.
But she couldn’t stay away from her swamp-loving tour guide. The pair apparently reconnected earlier this year when she revisited the area, once again performing at a festival.
“He saw his golden opportunity and asked her out and they have been together since. She loves older men,” a source close to the couple said.
In May 2024, Del Rey tagged Dufrene in an Instagram post and referred to him as her “guy”, captioning a photo of him and her two siblings: “Family [with] my guy @jeremy.dufrene @codyjay”.
The love birds were later spotted holding hands while shopping at Harrods in London on August 25 and sharing a romantic meal at a pub. Del Rey was in the country to perform at Leeds Festival.
A source said: “She brought him to her most recent string of shows in the UK, which was a big step. He is a good guy and she is wildly attracted to him. He is a good father and no one who knows him has anything bad to say about him.”
That same month, while performing her song Chemtrails Over the Country Club, Del Rey changed the line “He’s born in December, I’m born in June” to “He’s born in March” – which eagle-eyed fans began speculating was in tribute to Dufrene.
The pair officially went public with their relationship, in a big way, when they attended model Karen Elson and Electric Lady Studios owner Lee Foster’s star-studded wedding earlier this month in New York – alongside America’s most famous couple, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
Del Rey’s friends were reportedly unsure about Dufrene initially, but after doing some digging, were reassured that his business is lucrative and that he’s not after the singer’s money. Instead, reports suggest he is a kind, down-to-earth and low-maintenance partner – in contrast to her previous celebrity matches.
In fact, Dufrene perhaps strikes the perfect balance in that he’s a keen outdoors man, usually dressed in khaki and dedicated to his work with local wildlife, but he’s also independent and professionally successful.
Since joining his company in 2015 (he had previously worked at a chemical plant and as a shrimp fisherman) he has toured numerous big names around the swamps and marshes, including Hollywood actors Kate Hudson, Glen Powell and Emma Roberts.
Twisters and Anyone But You star Powell seemed particularly enthusiastic about his outing in 2015. He posted a picture to his Instagram with Dufrene, captioning it: “J-Bone and G-Trash. We’re both single and ready to mingle. Find us on the swamp or at the Daiquiris To-Go place next door or on Craigslist Personals. Sorry for partying. (Not sorry).”
Still, it will be a change of pace for Del Rey, becoming stepmother to Dufrene’s two daughters and son.
Dufrene filed for divorce from his first wife, Gina, in 2013 and the pair appear to be on good terms. Gina reposted photos of Dufrene and their children attending the Hangout Music Festival in Alabama, and one of Dufrene posing with Del Rey, on her Facebook.
Dufrene also seems like a quirky character. He promises his customers “a ride on the wild side” and he lives by that philosophy: on his social media, he feeds alligators raw chicken by hand, calls the gators his “Cajun yard dogs” and apparently has named each of them.
Del Rey’s fans seem divided on this new whirlwind romance, with one taking to X, formerly Twitter, to complain “Didn’t she meet that man yesterday? What the hell did I miss.” Another pointed out that these eccentric nuptials are in character, saying it’s the “most Lana Del Rey thing she could do”.
One even quipped: “‘Married to alligator tour guide’ sounds like a Lana Del Rey album [title].”
Actually, there may well be a commercial tie-in. Del Rey recently announced a pivot to a country music sound with her new album Lasso, due to be released soon, and she collaborated with rapper Quavo on a country track, Tough, in July. Going fully ‘method’ for her art? Now that really would be peak Del Rey.
- Additional reporting by Iona Cleave.
