Swap People star Dusty Crum is dating his longtime girlfriend Natalee Mckinney. The couple shares a passion for working in and around nature. Natalee, an entrepreneur, is at the center of this short bio.
Scroll down to know more about their relationship, age, job and more in the article below.
Swamp People: Meet Natalee Mckinney, Dusty Crum’s Girlfriend!
Swamp People star Dustin “Dusty” Crum is dating longtime girlfriend Natalee McKinney. Their relationship has been public since at least 2017. The couple shares a love of hunting invasive species in Florida. Dusty keeps busy with Guardians of the Glades and Swamp People. Natalee has appeared on Guardians of the Blades a few times. Together, they captured a 20-foot Burmese python in one notable incident.
Although never married, she has been a part of Dusty’s life for many years and their lives are quite intertwined.
Dusty has spoken about his wife to multiple media outlets. “Natalee works in a greenhouse in Myakka. She got me hooked,” Dusty said. Observer. “I’m interested in the scientific side of it.”
Dusty was first encouraged to go python hunting by Natalee. He left the house shortly after she issued the challenge.
“I couldn’t get him out of bed at 8am, and he left at 4am this morning. [to go back to the Everglades]”He’s so excited. You’re never going to limit him to a 9-to-5 job.”
On Dusty’s birthday in May 2019, Natalee wished her boyfriend: “Happy Birthday Dustin Crum aka Wildman aka I love you.”
During COVID 2020, there were rumors that Dusty had contracted the virus. Dismissing the rumors, Natalee posted on her Facebook, “Apparently someone posted somewhere.. To all of you private messaging me about Dusty having Corona. No he didn’t. He’s fine. Thanks for your concern.”
Dusty moved to Myakka City in 2004 as a way to “escape” back to the rural lifestyle he grew up in Sarasota County. Along with the television show, Dusty founded Florida Everglades Collections, a company that sells items like wallets, purses, and belts made from the tanned snake skins he and other snake hunters caught.
Dusty has also worked as a certified professional wildlife conservationist at Nat Geo Wild, a python removal contractor at MyFWC Florida Fish and Wildlife, and an invasive python monitor at HISTORY.
Natalee Mckinney’s age
Born in 1976, Natalee Mckinney is 48 years old this year.
Natalee Mckinney’s work
Natalee Mckinney is an entrepreneur and owner of Orchid Envy. Python products like boots, belt buckles, coin purses, passport holders, gun grips, dog collars, luggage tags, executive pens, eyeglass cases, and just about anything else you can make with more traditional leathers, make up a small but growing portion of Orchid Envy’s market.
“I had a lady come in here — she was working on her classic Trans Am — and she said, ‘Can you get me a black python?’ I called my guy at the tannery and said, ‘Can you play with it a little bit and pull the black pigment out of the leather?’ He said yes,” Natalee told the Herald-Tribune, “so she did her whole car — the dashboard, the seats, the trim, the steering wheel, the whole interior. And she bought a piece for everyone who worked on it, purses, bracelets, whatever.”
Natalee opened her shop on Venice Ave in 2013 and “never thought I would be catching, cleaning and skinning pythons.”
At the time, however, neither the South Florida Water Management District nor the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission offered bounties for nonvenomous reptiles. Red tide, coronavirus and years of downtown road construction didn’t affect her company.
Check out the products she offers via this link here. If you want to take a video tour of the place, here is the link.
“Every python skin is unique,” she adds. “And it’s the most fashionable accessory you should have in your wardrobe right now.”
Even though Natalee is five feet tall, she often needs a little help from her friends. She has caught quite a few pythons. “Some can be aggressive, but some are surprisingly docile—their mood depends on whether they’re eating or hungry,” she says. “They give you a little bite at first, and their teeth are inward, so you can’t pull them out. But it’s not like being bitten by a dog.”
Mostly, she buys python carcasses from hunters.
Additionally, Natalee continues to encourage others to participate in the Florida Python Challenge by promoting it each year. She went to a car show on Venice Island in March 2024 because she also loves cars. She took a lot of pictures of cars and posted them on Facebook.
Talking about her education, Natalee said she attended Riverview High School.
Is Natalee Mckinney on Instagram?
No, but you can find Natalee Mckinney on Facebook (@natalee.mckinney).
Related FAQs
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Where is Natalee Mckinney from?
Natalee Mckinney calls Sarasota, Florida her home. She currently resides in Myakka City, Florida.
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When is Natalee Mckinney’s birthday?
Natalee McKinney celebrates her birthday on January 16.