Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s relationship has been the talk of the town ever since the reports of them dating emerged in 2019. Now that the high-profile pair is married, their romance is taking even more space on front-page headlines.
Whether you hate or love the Amazon founder, there’s no denying that he revolutionized American consumerism. While his business endeavors have always garnered global attention, it was quite the opposite for his personal life. For years, Bezos lived a quiet life off the radar with his now ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, and their four kids.
In 2019, his marriage to Scott first gained massive public attention after the pair announced their split. Surprisingly, on the same day, reports emerged about the billionaire’s then-new romance with Lauren Sánchez. The former journalist was married to Patrick Whitesell before dating Jeff Bezos. Whitesell, while he may not have billions to his name like the Amazon boss, is still “one of the most powerful men in Hollywood,” as described by Town & Country.
According to US Weekly, the entertainment mogul had “worked closely together” on a project with Bezos, and the pair have known each other for quite a long time. Ironically, Whitesell was the one to introduce his then-wife to the billionaire, unknowingly igniting a romance between the future lovebirds.
The New York Times reported that not only did he “encourage” Lauren to spend some time with Jeff Bezos for business reasons, but the two families grew very close. The outlet claimed that their children often had playdates together at the massive Seattle compound owned by Jeff’s family.
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Lauren, who had a few too many successful careers, launched her own aerial filming company, Black Ops Aviation, in 2017, after getting her helicopter license a year prior. However, Whitesell wasn’t too keen on flying as it made him “nervous.” That is when he encouraged his wife to pair up with Bezos, who apparently loved the venture. The New York Times reported, “the two went flying together — encouraged by Mr. Whitesell, who saw the socializing as good for his wife’s aerial film and production company, Black Ops Aviation.”
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez bonded over their love of flying during this time. Page Six claims that the two became even “closer” when the former Fox News anchor was hired as a helicopter pilot for Blue Origin.
However, since their romance began, people have been really curious about whether Bezos cheated on his ex-wife, given the timeline of his relationship with Sánchez. Hours before the Amazon boss publicly announced his separation from Mackenzie in 2019, the National Enquirer published an explosive article claiming that, “for the past eight months,” Bezos had been “having secret rendezvous at palatial private estates.”
Lauren Sánchez sent her brother Michael intimate messages and photos from Jeff Bezos. He sold them to the National Enquirer for $200K. Federal prosecutors obtained her texts. Lauren called her brother’s actions a “deep and unforgivable betrayal.” pic.twitter.com/aRsR6XS7zj
— Hoodlum 🇺🇸 (@NotHoodlum) June 28, 2025
The scandal grew intense when Lauren was accused of the same thing. Although the pair had never publicly denied the allegations, sources close to them popped up claiming that they were already separated from their partners at that time.
Another name was also mentioned in unveiling their “secret romance.” The Daily Beast claimed that it was Lauren’s brother Michael Sánchez who snitched on the couple. He was allegedly paid a handsome amount of money to leak their private pictures and explicit text messages. The story ended up in a lawsuit, with the brother and sister getting estranged.
What started off as a scandal slowly grew to solid romance over the years. In May 2023, after years of speculation, Bezos finally popped up the question. Speaking about the proposal, Sánchez told Vogue, “When he opened the box, I think I blacked out a bit.” After sorting out all the prenuptial agreement negotiations, the pair finally walked down the aisle this year. Their extravagant wedding ceremony took place in Venice, Italy, attended by their celebrity friends.
