The Untold Truth Of Lauren Sanchez
You've probably heard the name Lauren Sanchez connected to the shocking divorce of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The world's richest man announced the end of his marriage to his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie Bezos, via Twitter in January 2019. Soon afterward, reports emerged that he'd been dating Sanchez, who's married but separated from Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell. The National Enquirer published alleged texts and photos of the pair that were supposedly snapped before the lovers had separated from their respective spouses. In fact, Us Weekly claims Whitesell was "blindsided" by Sanchez's reported relationship with Bezos.
Sanchez and Whitesell have two kids together, and Sanchez also has a son with ex-boyfriend Tony Gonzalez, a former tight-end for the Kansas City Chiefs. According to the Daily Mail, Sanchez also dated NYPD Blue actor Henry Simmons, so this whatever-it-is with Bezos is certainly not her first high-profile relationship. That's the dirt, but what else do we know about the woman at the center of what could potentially be the most expensive divorce in history? This is the untold truth of Lauren Sanchez.
You've probably seen her on TV
Lauren Sanchez has a lengthy IMDb resumé listing her television hosting work, as well as cameos in movies and scripted shows. She's co-hosted Extra since 2009, and Radar Online reported that she appeared on the show's 25th anniversary celebration in September 2018. She got her feet wet in the biz as an entertainment reporter for Fox News Los Angeles in 1987, then hosted Fox Sports News in 1996, later serving as a correspondent for the Best Damn Sports Show Period in 2001. She hosted So You Think You Can Dance in 2005 and served as a host and reporter for Fox's Good Day LA from 2011 to 2017.
Sanchez told Extra in 2018 (via the Daily Mail) that she was the first Latin American woman to land the 11 p.m. anchor slot at KCOP in Los Angeles. "When I first became a reporter, I did it because there was no one else I thought that looked like me," she said. "I was just trying to make my way. I was just trying to get through I never really thought about it until people started saying, 'Wow, this is kind of a big deal.'"
In addition to TV reporting, Sanchez has appeared in multiple movies, including Fight Club, The Day After Tomorrow, The Longest Yard, and Ted 2.
She's a helicopter pilot
Sanchez became a helicopter pilot and now does aerial filming. Her credits including 2017's critically-acclaimed Dunkirk and several commercials, as well as the 2019 Catherine Hardwicke film Miss Bala. "I had my job, I had a career, and then I found a calling," Sanchez told The Hollywood Reporter. "I loved entertainment and I loved filming, and so I got to combine all of it."
She added that while aerial filming and aviation is a field dominated by men, more women should get involved. "I want to be in a helicopter all the time," she said. "Life can be so chaotic with so much going on. Lift off and you're in an energy space that no one else is in. It's calming. When I'm up there, I'm completely satisfied. I'm like, 'This is where I need to be.'"
Sanchez works with her own Black Ops Aviation company, which she promotes on her now-locked down Instagram account.
She keeps popping up on The View
Lauren Sanchez is a regular guest co-host on The View, and, according to Radar Online, former host Rosie O'Donnell wanted Sanchez to join the panel permanently in 2015, but a source claimed "Rosie and Whoopi went to war" and in the midst of the chaos, Sanchez lost her seat at the table and "they decided to go with Raven [Symone]. It's been a mess of back and forth."
During a July 2013 appearance on the show, Barbara Walters revealed that Sanchez was also in the running for a co-host spot in 1999. They hired Lisa Ling instead. "I was so close," Sanchez recalled. "...I remember when Barbara called me and told me I didn't get the job. I was so depressed! But I have to say, it's bittersweet coming back." Sanchez also claimed someone bullied her on the set, but wouldn't say who — just that it'd been resolved.
TMZ reported that while Sanchez was in the running, her baby daddy and ex Tony Gonzalez's wife, October Gonzalez, was also a candidate.
Will we see her on The View again? We wouldn't count her out.
Her husband introduced her to Jeff Bezos
Lauren Sanchez tied the knot with Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell in a star-studded wedding in 2005. The guest list included Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Hugh Jackman, and Jessica Alba.
What's that about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer? A source told Page Six, "Patrick and Lauren have socialized with Jeff Bezos and his wife for a few years, because both couples have houses in Seattle," but we suspect Whitesell likely rues the day he introduced his wife to the 137 billion-dollar Bezos. A source told Us Weekly that Whitesell even suggested Sanchez and Bezos work together on a documentary. They did, and they ended up working on a lot more. The Blast reported that Sanchez also collaborated with Bezos on promotional videos for his Blue Origin aerospace program.
According to Radar Online, Whitesell and Sanchez are working with "Disso Queen" divorce lawyer Laura Wasser — the same attorney who worked with Angelina Jolie, Kim Kardashian, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Johnny Depp during their respective divorces.
She says she was fired from a TV gig because she was pregnant
Lauren Sanchez hosted So You Think You Can Dance in its 2005 inaugural season, but she later claimed to have been fired from the show because she was pregnant. In November 2012, RumorFix unearthed a video of SYTYCD producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe in a segment with Sanchez from 2012. In the footage, Lythgoe claims, "It was Mike Darnell that said, 'No, she's pregnant, we've got to let her go.'" Lythgoe adds, "I mean, that should be illegal!" Sanchez gasps loudly in the clip, but simply replies, "If ever need someone to fill in Paula's seat, I'll be the judge." Lythgoe then tells her, "You come anywhere near my show and you get pregnant."
Sanchez talked to RumorFix about the supposedly sexist revelation. "Finding out that I was fired because I was pregnant was devastating," she said. "...After that interview I called my husband and was bawling on the phone." She reportedly hired attorney Gloria Allred and considered legal action, but the statute of limitations had reportedly expired. (Fun fact: If it's true she got fired for being pregnant, it was illegal.)
A rep for FOX Broadcasting denied the allegations to RumorFix and claimed Lythgoe made his comments in jest. "Who's laughing?" Sanchez said. "I wasn't laughing. And by the way, who makes fun of firing a pregnant woman?"
She could play a starring role in the world's priciest divorce
Wall Street traders, Silicon Valley investors, average Joe Amazon shoppers — all eyes are on Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos and what could become the most "expensive divorce in history." The New York Post says MacKenzie "holds all the cards" because assets could be divided by a judge in Washington state where, by law, "assets acquired during marriage are equally owned. Therefore, MacKenzie Bezos is as much the world's wealthiest woman as her husband is its richest man." That means Jeff's 16 percent stake in Amazon stock could be up for grabs.
If the rumors are true, and Mr. Bezos was cheating on his wife with Lauren Sanchez, will that hurt his footing in divorce proceedings? Not exactly, according to attorney Bonnie Frost, who spoke to The Atlantic about the shocking split. In New Jersey, where Frost practices, she said "an affair would not affect distribution of property unless one could prove that the dallying spouse used marital assets to further [the] affair." In that case, "the cheater would owe the cheated 50 percent of the money spent on the affair," The Atlantic reported.
According to the National Enquirer (via Complex), the billionaire businessman has allegedly spent tens of millions of dollars hiding the affair and "used his business as an excuse to spend more time with Sanchez." Only time will tell how this shakes out, but one thing we can guarantee? The shipping won't be free.
She's been accused of having a shady romantic history
Lauren Sanchez has been accused of having a pretty sketchy past in terms of her love life — she allegedly has a history of cheating. As such, sources reportedly don't have high hopes for her romance with Jeff Bezos.
"Jeff Bezos is seriously stupid if he's thinking of marrying her. He's already seriously stupid for giving up half his fortune for her," a former Sanchez pal griped to Page Six. The source alleged that Sanchez was engaged to four different men before marrying Patrick Whitesell. An insider also told Page Six that Whitesell was "the most eligible bachelor in Hollywood" before marrying Sanchez, adding, "We never quite trusted Lauren. It's hard to put into words, but anyone in Hollywood will tell you that."
Meanwhile, Sanchez's ex and former NFL player Anthony Miller told the site that she cheated on him, saying, "I couldn't really trust her. She gets around. She was cheating on me with other guys." Sources close to Sanchez denied allegations of infidelity, however, and said Miller was the one who had cheated.
She may have hurt her husband's professional relationship
Lauren Sanchez may not have just broken husband Patrick Whitesell's heart when she embarked on her affair with Jeff Bezos; she may have also hurt his business.
A source close to Whitesell's WME agency told Page Six that he's "found himself in a rare position for a big power player... he's now the subject of a major media storm." The insider shared that Whitesell "advises clients how to stay out of this kind of position" and that he's "never had this kind of scrutiny before." The source continued, "People close to him say he's really embarrassed, particularly because Bezos was a friend. And even worse, there's no way Patrick or his big clients can avoid Amazon and Bezos."
It may well be Sanchez's fault that the world knows about her romance with Bezos, as sources close to the National Enquirer investigation told Page Six that Sanchez flaunted her steamy texts from the multi-billionaire to pals — and one of those friends allegedly leaked them to the press. Making it even more awkward is that People reports that, throughout all the drama, Sanchez and Whitesell still live together, and she reportedly plans on attending the Oscars — where she'll no doubt encounter her estranged hubby's clients and friends — with Bezos.