An heiress bride and the groom facing prison: Madelaine Brockway’s ‘wedding of the century’

Just weeks ago, Madelaine Brockway and Jacob LaGrone’s lavish nuptials were deemed the “wedding of the century” – with a rehearsal dinner at the Paris Opera house, an overnight stay at the Palace of Versailles, and a private Maroon 5 concert at the reception. Now, the groom is facing a 25-year prison sentence on charges of aggravated assault for allegedly shooting at three police officers.

It all began on 18 November, when LaGrone, 29, and Brockway, 27, tied the knot at the Chateau de Villette, a 185-acre estate outside Paris. While the elaborate wedding venue – decked out in white flowers, cascading fountains, and a drone show displaying the interlocking letters “M” and “J” – was impressive in itself, it was the five-day celebration leading up to the nuptials that caught everyone’s attention on the internet.

The celebrations began with a “bachelorette week” at luxury five-star resort Amangiri in Canyon Point, Utah, where the lowest price for a one-night hotel room stay is $3,150. Following the bachelorette week in Utah, Brockway and her wedding guests travelled to Paris, where she treated her guests to a private viewing of the Chanel Haute Couture Suite. This was followed by an overnight stay at the Palace of Versailles, where the lowest price for just one night at Le Grand Contrôle – the hotel in the Château de Versailles – is €2,200 ($2,409).

For the rehearsal dinner, the event took place at the Palais Garnier in Paris, one of the most famous opera houses in the world. During the wedding, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine was seen serenading the newly married couple during their first dance.

As Brockway documented the festivities on her since-scrubbed social media, it soon became described as the “wedding of the century” by TikTok user and event planner Lauren Zigman. However, what raised eyebrows most were the bride and groom, who seemingly came out of nowhere to become an overnight viral sensation.

Not only did this prompt curiosity about how much the lavish wedding celebration cost the couple (some have estimated the grand total to be a whopping $59m), but it also led many people to wonder exactly who Brockway and LaGrone are.

According to her LinkedIn, Brockway is a self-employed entrepreneur based in Fort Worth, Texas. The Daily Mail reports that Brockway attended college at Texas Christian University and began dating LaGrone – who is originally from Nashville, Tennessee – in March 2020. After graduating from the University of Mississippi, LaGrone worked as a talent coordinator for the Country Music Association in 2013 and 2014. He then worked as an operations assistant for the Ole Miss football team for nearly four years, his LinkedIn states, before becoming a production assistant for country music singer Jason Aldean in 2018.

The bride’s father, Robert “Bob” Brockway, is the chairman and CEO of Bill Ussery Motors – the parent company of Mercedes-Benz of Coral Gables and Mercedes-Benz of Cutler Bay in Florida. He reportedly made his fortune after selling two of its locations for a total of $150m, according to the Daily Mail.

Her mother, Paula Brockway, reportedly serves as the Vice President for the Mercedes-Benz branch in Coral Gables, Florida. According to the Tarrant County Appraisal District website, Brockway’s father owns several residential properties in the county worth more than $1m.

However, things took a turn last week when LaGrone appeared at Tarrant County court in Fort Worth, where he attended a motion hearing about charges against him. In March, LaGrone was indicted on three counts of aggravated assault on a public servant in Texas – a first-degree felony in the state, according to the Washington Post. The alleged incident took place on 14 March, when Westworth Village police officers responded to multiple disturbance calls, city officials said. When they arrived, officers were reportedly “fired upon” by LaGrone. The indictment obtained by the Washington Post states that LaGrone “did intentionally and knowingly threaten imminent bodily injury” to the officers and “did use or exhibit a deadly weapon during the commission of the assault, namely, a firearm”.

After the alleged incident, LaGrone was arrested and later released on a $20,000 bond, per the Dallas Morning News. He was then offered a plea bargain deal of 25 years in prison by the Tarrant County district attorney’s office. In Texas, any crime against a police officer that results in serious bodily injury is a first-degree felony, punishable anywhere from five to 99 years or life in prison.

Neither Brockway nor LaGrone have publicly commented on the charges. Since his appearance in Tarrant County court, Brockway’s TikTok account has been deleted and her Instagram has been made private. Meanwhile, LaGrone has deleted his Instagram entirely.

LaGrone’s attorney has not responded to The Independent’s request for comment.