By Lindsay Lowe
Jeff Bezos has been engaged to Lauren Sánchez since May 2023, when he proposed with a pink diamond ring hidden under her pillow.
“When he opened the box, I think I blacked out a bit,” Sánchez told Vogue in 2023.
The journalist and pilot, 54, has been linked to the Amazon founder, 60, since January 2019.
Sánchez has posted about their love on social media, calling Bezos “the most loving and supportive partner” in an Instagram post for his 59th birthday in 2023.
Bezos was previously married to philanthropist MacKenzie Scott from 1993 until 2019. The pair share four children.
Sánchez shares two children with her ex-husband, Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell, as well as one child with former NFL player Tony Gonzalez.
She’s an Emmy-winning journalist
Sánchez is an Emmy-winning journalist and a former co-host of “Good Day LA” on KTTV and correspondent for “Extra.”
She was up for a co-host position on ABC’s “The View” in 1999, but the spot ultimately went to journalist Lisa Ling. Barbara Walters personally called Sánchez to let her know she hadn’t been selected, Sánchez told The Wall Street Journal in 2023.
Sánchez says she still cherishes advice she received from Walters.
“She really helped me with my career. Not only as someone I looked up to, but really guided me when I was up for ‘The View,’” she told The Wall Street Journal.
She’s a seasoned pilot
Sánchez has long had a passion for aviation. She received her fixed-wing pilot license in the early 2010s and followed that up with a helicopter license, according to the 2023 Vogue profile.
She specializes in aerial filming and served as a consultant on Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In the past decade she founded Black Ops Aviation, which her bio on Bezos’ Earth Fund website describes as “the first female-owned and operated aerial film and production company.”
Black Ops Aviation has captured footage of Bezos’ Blue Origin missions and has worked on projects for commercial clients including Sony, IMG and Netflix, according to the company’s website.
Sánchez has opened up about her desire to see more women in aviation.
“This space is dominated by men,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. “But there’s nothing physical about flying a helicopter. You can be 5-foot-1 or 6-foot-4. There’s no reason more women aren’t in this.”
She has posted photos and videos of herself piloting helicopters on social media. In one video from August, she appears to take Orlando Bloom and her eldest son, Nikko Gonzalez, on a skydiving adventure.
“I guess you could call me a helicopter mom,” she joked in the caption.
Sánchez has discussed the peace she feels when she’s in the air.
“I want to be in a helicopter all the time,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “Life can be so chaotic with so much going on. Lift off and you’re in an energy space that no one else is in. It’s calming. When I’m up there, I’m completely satisfied. I’m like, ‘This is where I need to be.’”
She has 3 children
Sánchez has two sons and one daughter. She welcomed her eldest son, Nikko Gonzalez, 23, with her ex-boyfriend, retired NFL player Tony Gonzalez, in 2001.
She also has a son, Evan, 18, and a daughter, Ella, 16, whom she welcomed with ex-husband Patrick Whitesell.
Nikko Gonzalez has appeared with his mom on the red carpet, including when they posed together at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit in September.
