From girl next door to bombshell Bezos bride: Inside Lauren Sanchez's rocky path to the A-list as she's subject to mockery despite bagging a billionaire
She's gone from budding TV star, who faced job rejections and failed engagements to one of the world's most famous and glamorous women.
After negotiating a rocky path to the altar, Lauren Sanchez, 56, is now seen mingling with Hollywood's biggest A-listers and attending the most exclusive events on the arm of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. But despite her starry status, she remains the butt of many jokes.
At President Trump's January inauguration, where she was a guest alongside her fiancé, 61, Lauren's racy outfit, consisting of a white Alexander McQueen trouser suit revealing a generous flash of lacy white bustier, prompted a storm of criticism.
According to reports the soon-to-be Mrs Bezos was only allowed to attend the $350,000 per table Met Gala if the Vogue editor Anna Wintour had a say in what she wore, with an insider claiming the famously exacting editor decried Lauren's 'poor taste'.
Before meeting Jeff, Lauren was romantically linked to a slew of other stars, including an actor, two famous athletes, and a top CEO of a major talent agency - but it was when her whirlwind affair with Jeff came to light in 2019 that she truly became the subject of the public's interest.
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It was revealed that they were dating while they were both married to other people, which ultimately led to them leaving their respective partners - and the scandalous start to their romance only propelled Lauren into mega-stardom even more.
It's only natural that the world became fiercely fascinated with the woman who stole the heart of one of the richest men on the globe, especially since the couple was ultimately able to overcome the explosive cheating scandal and the accusations of blackmail and extortion that shrouded the start of their romance.
Meanwhile TV personality Megyn Kelly said last year Lauren 'looked like a hooker' in Milan and just weeks ago, restaurateur Keith McNally unleashed a rant about her outfit choices.
And owner of swanky NYC restaurant The Balthazar posted a seemingly unprovoked, posted a series of pictures of the couple online along with the caption, 'Does anybody else find Jeff Bezos' New wife - Lauren Sanchez - ABSOLUTELY REVOLTING?'
'What an ugly and F***ing SMUG - LOOKING couple they make. Is this what having 1000 Billion dollars does to people?'
While the relationship certainly cemented her status, Lauren's rise to the top actually started long before they met. She grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and dreamed of being a journalist from a young age - but because she suffered from undiagnosed dyslexia throughout her childhood, she began to believe that she couldn't do it.
Instead, she decided she wanted to become a flight attendant, and at age 18, after finishing high school, she moved to Los Angeles, California, where she applied for a job as a Southwest Airlines stewardess.
However, the then-teenager, who weighed just over eight stone told Wall Street Journal that she was forced to stand on a scale during the interview process - a standard practice for flight attendants at the time - and she ultimately didn't get the job because she was told she was too big.
Since meeting Jeff, Lauren has undergone a raunchy make over and often flaunts her figure in skimpy outfits (pictured right 2005, left 2024)
'Back then, they weighed you, and I weighed 121 pounds. They said, 'You need to be 115,'' she recalled. Unsure of where to turn, a heartbroken Lauren decided to go to back to school, and enrolled at El Camino College in Torrance, California.
It was there that she rediscovered her love for journalism after a teacher encouraged her to get tested for a learning disability and she finally realised that she was suffering from dyslexia.
'[The teacher said], 'You're not dumb. You're just dyslexic. Let me give you tools on how to write,'' she explained, adding that the professor gifted her a pocket dictionary to keep with her at all times. 'It changed my life. I went from barely a 2.0 student to the dean's list and got a scholarship to USC.'
Lauren transferred to University of Southern California in 1992, which she attended for two years while working as a desk assistant at the LA-based news company KCOP-TV. In 1994, she left to school to pursue her career as a reporter full time after she was offered a job at KTVK in Phoenix, Arizona.
In the years that followed, she moved around quite a bit - working briefly for Extra before heading to Fox Sports Net. Around that time, she also auditioned for a seat on The View - and when she didn't get the part, she admitted it was one of the 'most devastating days of her life.'
Lauren then went on to host Good Day LA for six years before starting her own aerial film and production company called Black Ops Aviation. She also served as the host on the first season of So You Think You Can Dance, and contributed to Larry King Live, The Joy Behar Show, and Showbiz Tonight over the years.
Before meeting Jeff, Lauren had a roller-coaster quest to find love, filled with a divorce and multiple failed engagements. And her list of exes has a slew of star-studded names, including an actor, famous athlete, and the head of a massive talent agency.
Her first boyfriend was sports broadcaster Rory Markas, who she met when she landed an internship at a Los Angeles TV station during college. The two even got engaged, but according to Page Six, she ultimately dumped Rory after she switched jobs.
She then started dating NFL star Anthony Miller, after the two met at the 1996 Super Bowl when he was playing for the Denver Broncos and she was a rising TV reporter. The pair were together for four years and engaged for one and a half before Anthony claimed that Lauren broke things off. He spoke about their romance - as well as their split - exclusively to DailyMail.com back in January 2019, and he alleged that Lauren cheated on him.
Lauren then went on to host Good Day LA for six years before starting her own aerial film and production company called Black Ops Aviation (pictured 1999)
Lauren's first boyfriend was sports broadcaster Rory Markas, who she met when she landed an internship at a Los Angeles TV station during college
'I couldn't really trust her,' he claimed. 'She gets around. She was cheating on me with other guys. 'I found out when I looked in her diary, and I found out more after I broke up with her.' He also called Lauren 'frugal' and 'really cheap,' adding: 'She wanted me to pay for everything.
'She was making good money back then, reporting for Extra and on Fox Sports News, but she didn't like paying.' However, sources close to Lauren disputed Anthony's claims, insisting to DailyMail.com that it was him who was unfaithful.Those insiders also called the athlete an 'opportunist' for speaking out about the relationship two decades later, right after Lauren's affair with Jeff was revealed.
After she and Anthony went their separate ways, Lauren started a relationship with footballer Tony Gonzalez. They welcomed a son, named Nikko Gonzalez, together in 2002 before splitting. After that, she was reportedly linked to actor Henry Simmons, but very little is known about their romance.
Lauren then entered into a relationship with Hollywood agent and Endeavor talent agency cofounder Patrick Whitesell. The two walked down the aisle together in 2005, and together, they had a son, named Evan Whitesell, in 2006 and a daughter, named Eleanor Whitesell, in 2008. They were together for more than a decade up until her affair with Jeff was brought to light in early 2019.
While it's unclear when exactly they started dating, Lauren and Jeff's romance was first exposed by the National Enquirer in January 2019, while they were both married to their now-exes. Soon after it was revealed, the billionaire businessman divorced his wife of more than 25 years and the mother of his four children, Mackenzie Scott, while Lauren left her husband, Patrick.
At the time, the bombshell report from the Enquirer claimed that Lauren and Jeff had been involved in an eight-month affair, which involved him 'whisking his mistress off to exotic destinations on his $65 million private jet, sending her raunchy messages and erotic selfies, and having secret rendezvous at palatial private estates.'
Soon after it was revealed, the billionaire businessman divorced his wife of more than 25 years and the mother of his four children while Lauren also left her partner (Lauren and Jeff 2021)
The outlet said that it had tracked them 'across five states and 40,000 miles, tailing them in private jets, swanky limos, helicopter rides, romantic hikes, five-star hotel hideaways, intimate dinner dates and "quality time" in hidden love nests.'
Following the Enquirer's accusations, Jeff fired back by writing a lengthy essay to the publication's CEO, David Pecker, in which the mogul accused the company of blackmailing him.
'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.
'[After] intimate texts messages from me were published in the National Enquirer, I engaged investigators to learn how those texts were obtained, and to determine the motives for the many unusual actions taken by the Enquirer.
'We were then approached with an offer. They said they had more of my text messages and photos that they would publish if we didn't stop our investigation.' He shared alleged emails sent to him by Enquirer staffers, in which they described the racy images they had 'obtained during their newsgathering' in detail.
Four years after their affair was revealed to the world by the National Enquirer, Bezos asked Lauren to marry him, with a pear diamond estimated to be worth at least $2 million.
Since then, the couple have flaunted their love around the world, holidayed aboard Bezos' mega yacht and count the likes of Kim Kardashian as pals, and just last week the reality star, 44, shared a behind-the-scenes look into Lauren 's lavish Paris bachelorette party.
Sipping on cocktails with Eva Longoria and her mother Kris Jenner, Kim posed for photos in front of the Eiffel Tower with the A-list attendees as she stunned in an elegant satin gown with a thigh-high leg slit to mark to occasion.
The girls enjoyed a boat ride past the Eiffel Tower complete with dinner and passion fruit Martinis. Sharing her photos to Instagram Kim captioned: 'We will always have Paris.'
During the weekend, Lauren and her famous friends also enjoyed dinner at the historic Lafayette's Paris restaurant in Paris, which offers refined French dishes with a modern twist.
They were treated to starters that included fried chicken, Caesar salad, and Norwegian smoked salmon, and a main course that featured mushroom rigatoni and roasted chicken.
1 October Gonzalez; 2 Natasha Poonawalla; 3 Charissa Thompson; 4 Bego Amaya; 5 Elsa Marie Collins; 6 Kim Kardashian; 7 Elena Sanchez; 8 Lydia Kives; 9 Veronica Smiley Grazer; 10 Lauren Sanchez; 11 Katy Perry; 12 Kris Jenner
The journalist — who recently enjoyed a controversial trip into space with Katy Perry — was pictured beaming while surrounded by her pals in the city of love. Among the other friends who joined her was October Gonzalez, the wife of her football player ex Tony Gonzalez, with whom Lauren shares son Nikko, 24.
Other friends in the snap were businesswoman Natasha Poonawalla; sports commentator Charissa Thompson; pal Bego Amaya; philanthropist Elsa Marie Collin, Lauren's sister Elena; and socialites Lydia Kives and Veronica Smiley Grazer.
Lauren and Jeff are expected to walk down the aisle next month, and the unusual venue for the ceremony is raising some eyebrows.
The couple, who have reportedly booked Elton John and Lady Gaga to perform, could say their 'I dos' on a Venetian island in an open-air theater.
The billionaire, his bride and some 200 guests have reportedly already booked rooms at the best hotels. His mega yacht is also expected to be a part of the festivities, although neither the future bride or groom would confirm.
Guests are expected to include: several members of the Kardashian/Jenner family, Perry and her fiancé Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, and along with model Karlee Kloss and her husband Joshua Kushner. President Donald Trump has also reportedly been invited to the nuptials.
Officials from the city of Venice have said they lobbied Bezos and Sanchez to hold the wedding there. Morris Ceron, the director general of the Venice council told the London Times he personally approached the Amazon founder about choosing the ancient city for the wedding.
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