Jeff Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sánchez opens up about marrying one of world’s richest men

Amazon founder proposed to the former broadcast journalist turned philanthrophist, in May onboard his $500m super yacht

Jeff Bezos’s wife-to-be, former broadcast journalist Lauren Sánchez, has said that there are “good opportunities” that come with marrying one of the world’s richest men.

When the Amazon founder proposed to Sánchez in May, they kept the proposal rather low-key – with the exception of the 20-carat, $2.5m pink diamond ring.

In a new interview with Vogue, Sánchez was asked whether certain responsibilities come with marrying Bezos, who is currently the world’s third wealthiest person.

“I think there are a lot of opportunities that come with that, and I take those opportunities very seriously,” Sánchez said.

“We always look at each other and go, ‘We’re the team.’ So everything’s shared.”

Sánchez, 53, a helicopter pilot and former American TV journalist, recalled the day Bezos proposed to her. Sánchez found the ring under her pillow after a starlit dinner for two on Koru, the billionaire’s three-master $500 million megayacht in May. The yacht is the tallest sailing yacht in the world.

“When he opened the box, I think I blacked out a bit,” she told Vogue, adding that the proposal was so unexpected that she had already removed her make-up and was ready to go to bed.

Sánchez wearing her 20-carat engagement ring (Getty Images)

“We’re still thinking about the wedding,” she added. “What it’s going to be. Is it going to be big? Is it going to be overseas? We don’t know yet. We’ve only been engaged five months!”

Bezos, 59, said he will not be taking an active role in planning the nuptials. “Oh, God, no,” he said. “Do I look that dumb?

Elsewhere in the interview, Sánchez said that she was certain she would be taking her husband’s last name.

Bezos and Sánchez photographed in November 2021 (Getty Images)

“Uh, yes, 100 per cent,” she told the publication. “I am looking forward to being Mrs Bezos.”

Sánchez embraced her status as being in one of the world’s most high-profile couples and regularly rubs shoulders with Hollywood A-Listers and is even in a WhatsApp group chat with Keeping Up With The Kardashians’s Kris Jenner and other unnamed celebrities and is a good friend of Kim Kardashian.

News of Sánchez and Bezos’s romance broke in January 2019, around the same time that Bezos announced his divorce from Mackenzie Scott, his wife of 25 years, in a joint statement on Twitter/X. The former couple share four children: three sons and one daughter.

Meanwhile, the Good Day LA co-host was also divorcing her husband, Patrick Whitesell, whom she was married to for 13 years. Sánchez has two children with Whitesell, as well as a son from a previous relationship with former NFL star Tony Gonzalez.

In January 2019,  Sánchez and Bezos were put on the front page of the National Enquirer, prompting Bezos to call out the tabloid. Afterwards, the pair both finalised their respective divorces.

Sánchez has since left her journalism career behind to focus on philanthropic work. She told Vogue that she is particularly focused on the environmental work of Bezos Earth Fund, a $10bn commitment to “climate solutions”, as well as the Bezos Academy, a network of tuition-free preschools.

According to  Sánchez, the couple use green aviation fuel when possible and their yacht Koru can sail using only wind power.

“I think Jeff and I really are focusing on the long-term commitment to climate, and we’re extremely optimistic about it,”  Sánchez said. “Ten billion is just the beginning.”

“This is the most important work I’ve ever done, ever,” she told the publication of her philanthropic efforts.