Clayton Johnson isn't mired in any summertime melancholy. Despite the fact that his ex-fiancée, Lana Del Rey, tied the knot with Jeremy Dufrene in 2024, the country singer—a contestant on Taylor Frankie Paul's since-canceled season of The Bachelorette—stressed that there's no ill will between him and the singer.
"When you love somebody," Clayton reflected during the April 22 episode of the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, "and it comes from a pure place—and she's somebody that I loved and still have love for—to see her find her person and for her to be as happy as she is, like she's radiating happiness, nothing could make me happier for her than that."
Yes, "it might sting a little bit," he admitted, "but if you really love somebody in the purest form, how could you be upset at that?"
Although Clayton and Lana were engaged between 2020 and 2021, he explained that they'd met years earlier at their church and then reconnected during the COVID-19 pandemic. He credits that timeframe with leading to their whirlwind engagement.
"I think COVID was a lot like dog years," he said. "You know, one month in COVID time is really like one year in the real world. So, it accelerated things a little bit, but at the same time, it just felt so right in all the ways."
Indeed, the pair connected on all the things that mattered—including their love for old country music.
"We just really connected over what we wanted our futures to look like," he said. "I have nothing but amazing things to say about her."
But while the songwriter looks back on his time with the Born to Die artist fondly, he also isn't willing to spill all their secrets.
"Above anything, I just respect her as a person," he said. "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."
As for any rumors that Clayton went out for The Bachelorette to get back at Lana—a known fan of reality TV and the Bachelor Nation franchise—the 37-year-old wants to confirm that was not the case.
"I truly don't have any place in my heart for any sort of revenge, any hate," he said. "It did not come from a place of wanting to get back at her by any means. This was for me."
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