Lana Del Rey’s ex-fiancé, Clayton Johnson, was a contestant on the canceled season of The Bachelorette with Taylor Frankie Paul. Recently, he appeared on the April 22 episode of the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast to talk about his experience on the show. During the episode, he also discussed Rey’s marriage to Jeremy Dufrene, which occurred in 2024.
“I think that when you love somebody and it comes from a pure place—and she's somebody that I loved and I have love 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 than that,” he said. “It might sting a little bit, but if you really love somebody in the purest form. How could you be upset at that?”
Johnson and Rey got engaged in 2020, during the pandemic, but broke up in 2021.
“I think COVID was a lot like dog years,” Johnson said. “You know, one month in COVID time is really like one year in the real world. So, it I think it accelerated things a little bit, but at the same time, it just felt so right in all the ways.”
He went on to say, “We just really connected over what we wanted our futures to look like. I have nothing but amazing things to say about her. Above anything, I just respect her as a person. She's a pretty private person. So, I really don't want to go into any crazy details, but at the same time, that was a huge chapter of my life, and it is part of my truth and my story and something that was really impactful in my journey.”
Johnson also addressed the rumors that he went on The Bachelorette to get back at his ex, since she’s such a big fan of the series. “I truly don't have any place in my heart for any sort of revenge, any hate,” he explained. “It did not come from a place of wanting to get back at her by any means. This was for me.”
