Clayton Johnson shares why he still has nothing but love for Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey's ex-fiancé Clayton Johnson has opened up about how he really feels about the singer's marriage, and he's keeping it classy.

The Nashville-based singer-songwriter appeared on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, recorded on April 2 and released on April 22, where he reflected on his past relationship with Del Rey, 40, and her marriage to Jeremy Dufrene.

"Obviously, she's married now. And I think that when you love somebody, and it comes from a pure place, and she's somebody that I loved and I 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," Johnson told hosts Charity Lawson and Rachel Recchia.

He did admit, though, that it isn't entirely painless. "It might sting a little bit, to be honest with you, but if you really love somebody in the purest form, how could you be upset at that?" he said.

Sources had confirmed to People in December 2020 that Johnson and Del Rey were engaged.

The pair eventually parted ways, and the Summertime Sadness singer went on to marry Dufrene in Des Allemandes, Louisiana, on September 26, 2024.

Despite the split, Johnson said he has nothing but "respect" for his ex. He revealed the two first "met in passing at church" before reconnecting during COVID, bonding over shared dreams and a love of old country music.

"We had a month of just FaceTiming, and I feel like we really became best friends over that time. So when you have that together and then you're together in person, we were pretty inseparable when that happened," he shared.

The pandemic, Johnson said, "accelerated things a little bit" — adding, "I think COVID was a lot like dog years, you know, one month in COVID time is really like one year in the real world."

After their breakup, the two maintained a working relationship for a while and "were still kind of maybe testing the waters," reuniting a few times between other relationships before ultimately going their separate ways for good.

Johnson also addressed his decision to appear on Taylor Frankie Paul's canceled season of The Bachelorette, shutting down any suggestion it was a dig at his ex.

"I truly don't have any place in my heart for any sort of revenge, any hate. It did not come from a place of wanting to get back at her by any means," he said. "This was for me and this was for my journey."

He also touched on the professional side of their shared history — noting that Del Rey and Quavo's 2024 collaboration Tough was co-written by him.

"As a songwriter to have that kind of accomplishment and to deal with somebody that you cared about and care about, it's been a dream," he said.