Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez are seemingly everywhere these days. They’re followed by paparazzi whenever they go on vacation (which is seemingly every other month), they’re getting in the mix in Washington, and last year they even met the pope. It’s easy to forget that these two started their relationship with a sexting scandal that took place while they were both married to other people. Now, they’re engaged and posing for Vogue together. Time heals all wounds, or, rather, time helps us forget about “I love you, alive girl.” Here, a look back at how they got to where they are now.
Bezos announced his divorce.
This whole thing began in January 2019 when Bezos announced that he and his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie, were getting divorced after a “long period of loving exploration and trial separation.” In a statement on what was then Twitter, Bezos wrote, “We’ve had such a great life together as a married couple, and we also see wonderful futures ahead, as parents, friends, partners in ventures and projects, and as individuals pursuing ventures and adventures.” What is more beautiful than being an individual pursuing a new venture?
That same day, People reported that Bezos was already dating Sánchez. “Lauren and Jeff have been spending a lot of time together over the last year and especially the past few months,”a source told the tabloid. “The two of them are sort of thick as thieves right now.” People also clarified that while Sánchez was technically still married to Hollywood power player Patrick Whitesell, they were also getting a divorce. The timing of this all felt a little rushed, but it would soon become clear what was going on behind the scenes.
Bezos’s sexts go public.
The day after Bezos announced his divorce and tabloid-launched his new girlfriend, the National Enquirer published what it claimed to be a trove of intimate texts the Amazon founder had sent to Sánchez. The texts went as far back as the spring of 2018 and include the iconic missive “I love you, alive girl. I will show you with my body, and my lips and my eyes, very soon.”
Over the next few months, the leaked texts became a major news story. Was there an affair? How long had they been split from their spouses? Why does he text like that? In February, Bezos wrote a post on Medium (TBT!) in which he published correspondence between his team and American Media, Inc., the National Enquirer’s publisher. “Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I’ve decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten,” he wrote.
Bezos had begun an investigation into how AMI got the texts, which apparently made AMI head David Pecker “apoplectic.” In a move Bezos saw as retaliation, the company allegedly came back with this: “They said they had more of my text messages and photos that they would publish if we didn’t stop our investigation.”
Per an email included in Bezos’s post, those photos contained a “below the belt selfie — otherwise colloquially known as a ‘d*ck pick,’” a “full-length body selfie of Mr. Bezos wearing just a pair of tight black boxer-briefs or trunks, with his phone in his left hand — while wearing his wedding ring,” and “a naked selfie in a bathroom — while wearing his wedding ring.”
What a mess! In a bizarre twist, it turns out that Sánchez’s brother was the person who leaked the texts, but he claimed that he had nothing to do with the photos.
Bezos’s divorce was official.
That April, Bezos and his ex-wife (now MacKenzie Scott) finalized their divorce. “Grateful to have finished the process of dissolving my marriage with Jeff with support from each other and everyone who reached out to us in kindness, and looking forward to next phase as co-parents and friends,” Scott wrote in a statement. She also noted that she had given him all of her interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin as well as 75 percent of their Amazon stock. This left her with … still a ton of money. Good for her.
Bezos and Sánchez were free to hang out in public.
With his divorce finalized and the National Enquirer scandal (mostly) behind them, Bezos and Sánchez stepped out publicly for the first time in May 2019. They got dinner at Emily in New York, where, according to People, they ate pizza and burgers.
“Both Jeff and Lauren have been focused on their kids for the last several months,” a source told the tabloid. “Any relationship had to be on the back burner for that reason. Now that each has reached a divorce settlement, they thought the time was right to finally date like regular people,” the source adds.
Sánchez’s divorce was finalized.
Despite what that source told People, Sánchez and Whitesell didn’t wrap up their divorce until October. TMZ reported that the split hadn’t been too difficult (paperwork-wise, at least) thanks to the couple’s prenup. They opted to use divorce-attorney extraordinaire Laura Wasser as a mediator and ended up with joint physical custody of their two children.
They sort of became normal?
Obviously, these two are never going to be normal in the way that you and I are, but by December they went on one of their first (of many) vacations together. They were photographed strolling around St. Barts, where they reportedly hung out on David Geffen’s yacht alongside Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner. Their scandal was behind them, and they could go about their business.
They went on a double date with Kim and Pete.
Bezos and Sánchez lay low throughout the pandemic, but in April 2022 they got interesting again when they went on a double date with Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson. If this crew is confusing to you, it will help to know that Sánchez has been close with the Kardashians since before she began dating Bezos. She and Kim bringing their boyfriends who have nothing in common to a double date is actually one of the most relatable things they’ve ever done.
They got engaged.
In May 2023, Bezos and Sánchez got engaged, reportedly while aboard his superyacht. Sánchez would later confirm this in her Vogue cover story, revealing that he had hidden the ring under her pillow and she found it before going to sleep. “When he opened the box, I think I blacked out a bit,” she told the magazine.
Also around this time, people speculated that the bodacious wooden figurehead on Bezos’s yacht was modeled after Sánchez. In that same Vogue story, she said she was flattered by the comparisons, but it was actually the mythological figure Freyja, one of Bezos’s favorites. Sánchez said “If it was me” before making “a gesture of having larger breasts.” Is it possible that she’s actually funny?
They began their “meeting with dignitaries” chapter.
In April 2024, Bezos brought Sánchez to a state dinner at the White House in honor of Japan. Sánchez caused quite a stir by wearing a red lacy corset dress, which some might consider inappropriate for the evening. On the other hand, some people defended her choice, calling it “hot.” A few months later, Bezos and Sánchez met with Pope Francis at the Vatican. This time around, she wore a conservative-skirt-and-blazer combo. We will, of course, be circling back to her fashion choices.
They started planning their wedding.
With little movement on the wedding front, people began to get curious about when the big event would finally happen. While appearing on the Today show last November, Sánchez told Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie that she had some ideas for the wedding. “I have to say I do have a Pinterest. I’m just like every other bride, so I do have a Pinterest board,” Sánchez said, adding that she has been “thinking about the dress.” Don’t tell me … lace?
Then a rumor popped up that the couple would be having a $600 million wedding in Aspen over the holidays. That pushed Bezos to the brink, and he logged on to X to clear things up.
They showed their love for the new president.
Fresh off a holiday season that did not feature a wedding, the couple kicked off 2025 by sitting front row at Donald Trump’s inauguration. Sánchez once again opted for lace in Washington, D.C., this time wearing a white Alexander McQueen pantsuit and a visible bustier. Once again, people were quick to dismiss the look, but it sure seemed like Mark Zuckerberg liked it.