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Just hours after Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife Mackenzie announced their divorce in Jan. 2019, it was reported that he had been seeing Lauren Sanchez for quite some time
Lauren Sanchez was born in New Mexico and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18
She began her career as a journalist, and is now a multi-millionaire, philanthropist, and licensed pilot
Lauren Sanchez, an Emmy-winning television host and girlfriend of Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos, is adding an impressive new title to her resume: space pilot. She revealed in a Jan. 25, 2023 interview with the Wall Street Journal that Jeff’s space company, Blue Origin, plans to send an all-female crew into space in 2024 and that she will be leading it. Just a few months before in Nov. 2022, she told CNN she would make it into space in 2023 — two years after her partner first left Earth’s atmosphere.
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Lauren, 53, doesn’t only share an interest in space with the 59-year-old entrepreneur, though. They are both passionate about climate change and both have families to raise So, who is Lauren, a woman who wears many hats? Read on to learn about Jeff Bezos’ girlfriend.
How Did Lauren And Jeff Meet?
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have been together since 2019 (Photo: David Fisher/Shutterstock)
Lauren, Jeff, and Jeff’s ex-wife of 25 years, Mackenzie, had been friendly for years before Jeff and Lauren’s relationship was revealed to the public (which was the same day Jeff and Mackenzie announced their separation). Jeff and Mackenzie’s divorce was settled in April 2019, while Lauren’s separation from Patrick Whitesell was finalized in October of that year. Jeff had also been fairly friendly with Patrick and was even photographed with him and Lauren shortly before Jeff announced his divorce, according to PEOPLE. “Patrick and Lauren have been on and off for a while and have been separated. [Patrick] knew they were seeing each other,” a source told the outlet.
In her chat with The Wall Street Journal, Lauren gushed that she and Jeff enjoy doing everything in life together. “We love to be together and we love to work together. We fly together. We work out together. We’re together all the time,” she said.
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She also raved about some of her favorite things about Jeff, who is among the five richest people in the world at the time of this writing. “He’s really funny. He makes me laugh all the time. He can be goofy,” she noted. She later revealed their special Sunday morning ritual: Jeff wakes up early and makes “the best pancakes in the world.”
How Did Lauren Land Upon The Stars?
The New Mexico-born journalist started her professional career as a Los Angeles-based entertainment reporter for Fox News, according to IMDb. She then moved to sports reporting in 1996 and notably hosted the premiere season of So You Think You Can Dance in 2005. She has also worked as an entertainment reporter on Extra and hosted Fox’s Good Day LA between 2011 to 2017. Her on-camera career has also landed her several anchorwoman roles in films and television shows over the years, although she has played a few different characters as well.
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Despite having an enviable career, Lauren said she experienced her biggest disappointment in 1999 when she did not land a co-hosting spot on The View. “It was one of the most devastating days of my life,” she told The Wall Street Journal. “It turned out to be a good thing because I wouldn’t have had Nikko,” she added, speaking of her firstborn son.
Lauren Sanchez wanted to be a flight attendant before she started working as a journalist (Photo: AFF-USA/Shutterstock)
Before being rejected from The View, though, Lauren experienced another heart-wrenching rejection. She moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18 to be a flight attendant with Southwest Airlines, and she claimed they dismissed her in 1989 because she was too heavy. “Back then, they weighed you, and I weighed 121 pounds,” she remembered. “They said, ‘You need to be 115.’”
After her dreams of working with Southwest were crushed, she enrolled in classes at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif. According to the school’s website, though, Lauren had a different name while she was working toward her degree: Wendy.
Lauren Is A Mom
As she mentioned, Lauren had her first son, Nikko, shortly after getting rejected from The View. She shares Nikko, now 21, with former NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez. She went on to have a daughter, 15-year-old Eleanor, and a son, 16-year-old Evan, with her ex-husband. Meanwhile, Jeff has three biological sons and one adopted daughter with MacKenzie, per E! News.
Lauren compared her and Jeff’s blended family to the Brady bunch in her chat with the WSJ. Giving a glimpse into their family life, she said, “On a typical Saturday, we hang out, we have dinner with the kids, which is always fun because you never know where the conversation is going to go with this many kids.”
Lauren And Jeff Are Super Into Philanthropy
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez pose at the 10th Annual LACMA Art + Film Gala in 2021 (Photo: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
When they aren’t raising their kids or planning their next flight to space, Lauren and Jeff focus a great deal of time and energy on trying to better the world. The mother of three is the vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, an organization dedicated to helping prevent the disastrous effects of climate change. Plus, in 2021, Lauren and Jeff met with King Charles (then Prince Charles) to discuss strategies to help fight climate change. “Discussing climate change with the Prince of Wales. The meeting took place at Dumfries House, his lovely home in Scotland,” Lauren captioned her Instagram post from the trip, which can be seen here.
Furthermore, in Nov. 2022, they awarded Dolly Parton with a $100 million grant as part of her Courage and Civility Award. They gifted her the money to disperse to organizations and charities she would like to support. “I try to put my money where my heart is. I will do my best to do good things with this money,” Dolly, 77, said in a November tweet after she was honored by Jeff and Lauren in person.
I try to put my money where my heart is. I will do my best to do good things with this money ❤️ Thank you @JeffBezos #LaurenSanchez https://t.co/8RHh51z3jT
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) November 13, 2022
Lauren spoke about her and Jeff’s activism to the WSJ and said they plan to donate much more money during their lifetimes, but noted they will make sure to do so strategically. “You want to give money away and you want to know that it’s helping people and it’s going to continue to help people and that it’s going to the right places,” she explained. “You could give it not-strategically. You can just give it away! But, we take it seriously.”
Lauren Is ‘Nervous’ To Fly Into Space
The woman of many passions obtained her pilot license in 2016 and even founded Black Ops Aviation, an aerial film production company. “I had my job, I had a career, and then I found a calling. I loved entertainment and I loved filming, and so I got to combine all of it,” Lauren told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017.
Despite her flight experience and passion, she admitted to the WSJ that she is a bit “nervous” to head to space in 2024. However, she also said she is eager to go as well, especially because it’s an all-female trip. “It’s going to be women who are making a difference in the world and who are impactful and have a message to send,” she proudly stated. Meanwhile, she gushed that Jeff is “thrilled” about her first ride into space. “He’ll be cheering us all on from the sidelines,” she noted.
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