‘We are the Brady Bunch!’ Lauren Sanchez gushes about life with Jeff Bezos in first solo interview since their romance went public – from how they blended their two families to why they’re ‘together all the time’
- Lauren Sanchez, 53, was interviewed for The Wall Street Journal‘s WSJ magazine
- She opened up about how she and Bezos, 59, do everything together
- Sanchez called the Amazon founder ‘the most loving human’ she knows
Lauren Sanchez has opened up about living and working with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in her first solo interview since their romance went public, saying he is the ‘most loving human’ she knows.
After years of keeping her private life under wraps, the Black Ops Aviation founder, 53, struck a pose in a black Versace mini dress and six-inch Valentino platform heels for the editorial featured in The Wall Street Journal‘s WSJ magazine.
In the accompanying interview, she spoke with Derek Blasberg about what it’s like to be one half of one of the most philanthropic couples in the world, including their desire to merge their professional and personal lives.
‘It’s the greatest experience I’ve ever had. I’ve always had a career very separate from my partner. I think now that I can work with my partner and be with him all the time,’ she said of their joint philanthropic initiatives and passion projects.
Lauren Sanchez, 53, opened up about her life with Jeff Bezos, 59, in The Wall Street Journal‘s WSJ magazine, her first solo interview since their romance went public in 2019
The Emmy-winning TV host and helicopter pilot said working with Bezos on their philanthropic initiatives and passion projects has been the ‘greatest experience’ of her life
Sanchez, an Emmy-winning TV host and helicopter pilot, recently launched her production company, Adventure & Fellowship, which has produced films for Bezos Academy, Bezos Earth Fund, and Blue Origin — Bezos’ aerospace company.
She is also slated to release her first children’s book, ‘Flynn, The Fly Who Flew,’ sometime this year. She noted that Bezos, 59, has worked with her every step of the way.
‘Living with Jeff is like having a master class every day,’ she said. ‘What he’s really taught me a lot about is management. Biggest pieces of advice? I hold a lot of meetings and I would talk first in a meeting and he goes, “No, no, no. You’re the boss. You talk last. You let everyone else talk so that they don’t get swayed by your opinion.”‘
Bezos also advised her to ‘keep meeting under an hour’ if possible and have the person running the meeting write a document that is six pages or less about what will be discussed and why.
‘I don’t know how he does it; he can read documents for hours,’ she shared.
‘Living with Jeff is like having a master class every day,’ she said of the business advice the Amazon founder has given her over the years
Sanchez’s recently launched production company, Adventure & Fellowship, has produced films for Bezos Academy, Bezos Earth Fund, and Blue Origin – Bezos’ aerospace company
The couple’s connection started long before they ever met. They were both born in the same hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ‘just six years apart,’ according to Sanchez.
The exact start of their relationship remains murky, but Blasberg touched upon the early days of their courtship, writing that ‘their romance blossomed on helicopter rides she piloted.’
Bezos, who was in a helicopter crash in 2003, credited Sanchez with him getting comfortable in the air again — to the point that he is now learning to fly himself.
‘We love to be together and we love to work together,’ she said. ‘He’s helping me with the book. He’s getting his pilot’s license. We fly together. We work out together. We’re together all the time.’
Sanchez noted that her billionaire boyfriend even ‘stole [her] trainer’ Wes Okerson, saying, ‘Jeff is extremely dedicated to his workouts. I mean, you have no idea. He really puts in the work.’
The couple has a total of seven children from their previous relationships, and they often spend the weekends with their blended families.
Sanchez shared that Bezos is helping her with the release of her first children’s book, ‘Flynn, The Fly Who Flew,’ while he is currently in the process of getting his pilot’s license
Sanchez and Bezos were born in the same hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ‘just six years apart,’ according to the former journalist (pictured as a baby with her sister Elena Sanchez)
The exact start of Sanchez and Bezos’ relationship remains murky, but ‘their romance blossomed on helicopter rides she piloted,’ according to her WSJ interview
Sanchez shares a 21-year-old son, Nikko Gonzales, with former NFL tight end Tony Gonzalez. She also has a younger son, Evan Whitesell, 16, and a daughter, Eleanor Whitesell, 15, with her ex-husband, Patrick Whitesell.
Whitesell, who is the executive chairman of the entertainment agency Endeavor, was reportedly the one who introduced her to Bezos, who has three sons and an adopted daughter with his ex-wife, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
Sanchez and Bezos were both legally married to their former spouses when their affair was exposed by the National Enquirer in January 2019.
Their respective divorces followed soon after, and Scott, 52, became one of the richest people in the world when she walked away with $28.9 billion as part of their divorce settlement.
Sanchez admitted that being in a high-profile relationship with Bezos has its downsides, saying she had to learn not to give her exact location or post certain things on Instagram.
‘It’s hard. I’m a very open person. I talk a lot. I like to tell all my secrets. I have had to learn that I can’t do that. It’s a good lesson. [I used to] say stuff to people and no one would care!’ she explained.
Sanchez credited the success of their blended families to her experience co-parenting with her NFL star ex Tony Gonzalez, with whom she shares a 21-year-old son, Nikko Gonzales (pictured)
Sanchez also has a younger son, Evan Whitesell, 16, and a daughter, Eleanor Whitesell, 15, with her ex-husband, Patrick Whitesell (pictured in 2011)
Bezos and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, have three sons and a daughter they adopted from China (pictured in 2016). They were married for 25 years
Bezos and Scott (pictured in 2018) divorced after the National Enquirer exposed his affair with Sanchez in January 2019. She walked away with $28.9 billion
‘I have to be more private, a little more controlled, and that’s fine,’ she added.
Four years after the news of their affair, Sanchez has painted a picture of domestic bliss in their shared home in Beverly Hills, the historic Warner estate that he bought for $165 million in 2021.
‘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,’, she said. ‘We are the Brady Bunch!’
When asked about their blended families, she credited their success to her experience co-parenting with her ex Gonzalez.
‘My greatest example is the relationship I have with my eldest son’s father, Tony [Gonzalez]. I learned how to co-parent with him, so I have more experience than Jeff might have,’ she explained. ‘Tony and his wife [October “Tobie” Gonzalez] are my best friends. It wasn’t always that way. There was friction [at the beginning]. But Tony and Tobie were at Thanksgiving with us [this year], and we’re really good friends.’
When they aren’t traveling, the philanthropic couple spends weekends with their kids in their shared Beverly Hills mansion, which Bezos bought for $165 million in 2021
In November, the couple presented the second annual Bezos Award for Courage & Civility to Dolly Parton at a gala in Washington, D.C. Parton was given a $100 million grant to be given to her choice of charities
Sanchez admitted being in a high-profile relationship with Bezos has its downsides, saying she had to learn not to give the location where she is at or post certain things on Instagram
Sanchez noted that she and Gonzalez ‘always communicated,’ but it ‘took about five years’ for them to become friends.
Giving another glimpse into their life at home with Bezos, she shared how serious he is about the art of making pancakes.
‘Every Sunday morning, Jeff makes pancakes,’ she explained. ‘He wakes up early. He gets the Betty Crocker cookbook out every time, and I’m like, “OK, you’re the smartest man in the world; why don’t you have this memorized yet?” But he opens it up every time: Exact portions make the best pancakes in the world.’
Sanchez said most people would be surprised to know Bezos is ‘really funny’ and ‘can be goofy.’
‘He makes me laugh all the time,’ she gushed.
As for his own distinctive laugh, she admitted that it caught her off guard at first, but it now ‘makes [her] smile.’
Sanchez and Bezos did their first joint interview with CNN last month. She told WSJ that she wasn’t surprised when he announced his plan to give most of his wealth away before he dies
‘He’s so happy, he inspires me every day, he makes me a better person every day; he’s the most loving human I know,’ she said of her partner
Sanchez plans on following in Bezos’ footsteps and leading an all-female mission to outer space on Blue Origin by early 2024. ‘He’ll be cheering us all on from the sidelines,’ she said
‘When I first heard his laugh, I was like, “Whoa! What is that?”‘ she recalled. ‘Now I love it. And if I’m at a party and we get separated, all I have to do is wait a second and he laughs and it’s like, he’s over there. He’s so happy, he inspires me every day, he makes me a better person every day; he’s the most loving human I know.’
Sanchez and Bezos did their first sit-down television interview together last month, and during their conversation with CNN, he shared his plans to give away most of his wealth before he dies.
‘Jeff has always told me, since I’ve known him, that he’s going to give the majority of his money to philanthropy,’ she told WSJ magazine, insisting the revelation wasn’t a surprise to her.
‘He just never felt the need to have to say it,’ she added.
Sanchez also plans on following in Bezos’ footsteps and leading an all-female mission to outer space on Blue Origin by early 2024. She won’t be naming the women until closer to the launch date, but Bezos isn’t going with them.
‘As much as he wants to go on this flight, I’m going to have to hold him back,’ she said. ‘He’ll be cheering us all on from the sidelines.’
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