Why Lauren Sanchez's Brother Initially Refused To Meet Jeff Bezos
It's no secret that Lauren Sanchez and her brother, Michael Sanchez, had massive drama in the wake of her affair with Jeff Bezos going public. However, as it turns out, there's even more tea to be spilled. As Michael himself revealed, at first, he had no interest in meeting Bezos. That said, given everything that happened since that fateful meeting, there's a good chance both Lauren and Bezos wish he hadn't.
To refresh, when Lauren and Bezos first began seeing each other, they were married to other people. For that reason, sources close to Michael told Page Six that he was more than a little apprehensive of the entire thing. The unnamed sources weren't the only ones to say so, either. Speaking to the outlet, Michael shared that he went into their first dinner together with every intention of not taking it seriously.
Things changed when Michael came face to face with a much more low-key Bezos than he'd expected to meet. As he told the publication, "I knew this was real ... This was my sister's future." He wasn't wrong, there. Today, Lauren is sporting an engagement ring worth a fortune, and though there are no wedding plans at the time of writing, she's told Vogue, "I am looking forward to being Mrs. Bezos." Even so, despite seeing that they were good together, there's no denying that Michael made some major missteps with the couple soon after meeting his future brother-in-law.
Michael wasn't a fan of Lauren and Jeff's risky behavior
Despite initially disregarding Lauren Sanchez's relationship with Jeff Bezos, once Michael Sanchez realized there was something there, his mind went into overdrive. His chief concern, he told Page Six, was that the couple wasn't exactly going to great lengths to keep their affair under wraps. As he told the outlet, "They were so in love they didn't have any plan. They had no idea what they were doing. They were together at Lauren's Santa Monica house, which is all glass, taking all these insane risks."
That's where things got murky. Troubled by the thought of the affair being exposed, when Michael realized the press did indeed have a hunch, he hatched a plan to protect them and ensure their relationship went the distance. As he explained, "If they knew that the National Enquirer knew about the affair, it would've instantly been the end of the relationship." Enter, his gallant promise to secure pictures of them together.
Michael ended up not supplying the pics. However, that's not to say there haven't been questions about the full extent of his dealings with the outlet. In fact, if National Enquirer sources speaking to The New York Times are to be believed, just one person gave them every piece of intel they had about the affair. Interesting way of keeping an affair secret, but, like, maybe we just don't know his heart?
Michael's antics backfired, big time
Whether or not Michael Sanchez shared what he knew with the National Enquirer out of the goodness of his heart, it's safe to say Jeff Bezos didn't exactly appreciate it. Far from it, not long after Bezos learned that National Enquirer knew, his security consultant, Gavin de Becker, told the Daily Beast that they had looked into his involvement in the situation.
What would follow was a ton of legal back and forth, with Michael accusing Bezos and his camp of defamation, the lawsuit being thrown out of court, and Bezos going after Michael to make up for the cost of his legal fees. It was messy, for sure, and it's worth noting that Michael's appeal regarding the defamation lawsuit was also unsuccessful. However, that didn't stop him from going after American Media Inc. (that would be the publisher of National Enquirer) — and, trying to depose Lauren Sanchez in the process. Spoiler alert: she wasn't required to.
As for Michael's relationship with Lauren and Bezos outside of their legal drama, well, there isn't one. In response to Daily Beast's questions for comment on what was then an unconfirmed engagement report, he claimed that it was a ruse to deflect attention from the lawsuits. "This is the kind of sloppy PR stunt she would come up with," he said. TBH, we're not sure Michael is in a position to cast doubts on anyone else's PR.