Lana Del Rey’s ‘jealousy’ has caused an explosive rift between her new husband Jeremy Dufrene and his longtime ex-fiance, who is no longer allowed to visit their marital home to see her daughter.
The singer-songwriter, 39, married Louisiana native Dufrene, 49, on Thursday before a small gathering of family and friends in the bayou where they first met five years ago during one of his famous swamp tours.
Now, insiders have exclusively revealed that Del Rey has been messaging the alligator guide for the past four years of his 13-year relationship with 45-year-old Kelli Welsh, whose friendship with Dufrene has fallen apart in the weeks since they started dating.
Welsh, who was blindsided by the news of their backyard wedding, is also said to be unaware that Del Rey and Dufrene had packed up the last belongings of the home they once shared — including her crystals as they lost her “energy.” wore.
“Jeremy and Lana started talking in 2019 but they never stopped,” the insider told DailyMail.com. At one point she messaged him on social media and told him she was taking a break for a while but he can always call her.
Lana Del Rey’s ‘jealousy’ has caused an explosive rift between her new husband Jeremy Dufrene and his longtime ex-fiancée Kelli Welsh
Insiders have exclusively revealed that Del Rey, 39, has been messaging the alligator guide, 49, for the last four years of his 13-year relationship with Welsh, 45.
“This is while he was engaged to Kelli. Lana knew Jeremy was engaged. He was very honest about it and had pictures of Kelli and the kids on his own social media.”
Welsh and Dufrene started dating as teenagers when she was 16 and he was 19, but they split after a year.
He subsequently married his first wife Gina, with whom he has two sons and a daughter.
Within a year of their marriage ending, he ended up back with Welsh in 2011 after keeping in touch over the years.
He proposed in 2012, but the teenage sweethearts never married and eventually split last October. Dufrene also raised Welsh’s daughter Alana, now 20, as his own. She still lives with him, while Welsh is now based in Texas.
Their relationship has also been estranged since he started dating Del Rey.
The source claimed that Welsh briefly moved to Texas to care for a sick relative, but ultimately stayed after distance drove them apart.
But before they moved, they went camping together, where she told him she wanted “more out of the relationship.”
Welsh’s friendship with Dufrene has broken down in the weeks since he started dating Del Rey (pictured in 2018)
According to the source, Welsh had no idea he was engaged to Lana and only learned the two had gotten married the morning after their wedding.
“She wanted to start making real, real memories with him, but Jeremy just worked all the time, 24/7,” the insider claimed. “He put work above all else, including her.”
Del Rey recently moved into the home he previously shared with Welsh and the couple Since then, all of Welsh’s belongings have been stored and Welsh is no longer allowed to come.
“Jeremy told Kelli not to go to the house after he got together with Lana, which really upset her,” the source said.
“Kelli’s biological daughter Alanna still lives there with Jeremy, who she considers her father. But he never adopted her.
‘What’s confusing is that Jeremy’s ex-wife Gina was always home with her new husband. They were one big, blended family.
“So there’s no point in Kelli not being admitted. Jeremy said Lana was jealous of her because of their long history. So when she moved into the house, they took all of Kelli’s belongings and put them in storage.
“Lana especially wanted to rid the house of Kelli’s crystals. She told Jeremy that the crystals contained so much energy and that she wanted them gone.
‘She just wanted to start a new life with him and didn’t want any part of his past, especially with his ex of over ten years.’
“Jeremy told Kelli not to go to the house after he got together with Lana, which really upset her,” the source told DailyMail.com
The insider continued, “Jeremy said Lana was jealous [Welsh] because of their long history
Del Rey first met Dufrene during one of his tours in 2019 and continued to message him in the years since
The Grammy nominee exchanged vows with Dufrene on the waterfront in Des Allemandes, Louisiana, on Thursday, just a month after they were first photographed together.
Despite the tensions, the insider insisted the unlikely couple are deeply in love – with the singer on good terms with his children, who she recently flew to her Los Angeles property by private jet.
The source said: ‘She took him and all the kids, plus all the kid’s significant others, on a private jet to her house in LA, where they stayed for a week.
“She gave the kids a $200 spending allowance each. They clearly like her a lot.”
They insisted Dufrene “didn’t marry her for her money” but claimed Del Rey gave him gifts, including three Take $3000.
The couple exchanged their vows on the water in Des Allemandes – in the same bay where he organizes his popular airboat rides
“He’s never had anything this expensive,” they added.
‘Jeremy is getting used to living like a king, but there’s no way he’s going to quit his job and let someone take care of him. It’s kind of funny to see him all dressed up.
“It would be hilarious to see him at the Met Gala with her.” Can you imagine?’
But despite Del Rey having enough of a $30 million fortune to buy them an A-list luxury home, the newlyweds plan to live in his modest five-bedroom family home, which he demolished in 2020 and built from built up the ground.
“For most people, the area where Jeremy lives is a town with nowhere to go,” the source said.
‘But Lana likes that she can go into town and people don’t know who she is. They’ve been to Walmart together and out to dinner a few times, but no one has any idea she’s famous, and she likes this.”
The Summertime Sadness singer went public with Dufrene on August 25, when they were spotted holding hands and having a romantic meal together in London after she performed at Reading Festival.
The couple attended Karen Elson’s wedding earlier this month, along with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
On Monday, TMZ reported that the unlikely couple had received a marriage license.
The newlyweds first met when they performed at the Buku Music + Art Project in Louisiana in March 2019. She went on one of his tours and shared a photo of him kissing an alligator.
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 lover had “no idea” who she was.