Signs Lauren Sánchez & Jeff Bezos' Relationship Won't Last

Over the years, Jeff Bezos and his fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, have tried their hardest to convince people that they have found their ideal match in each other. People broke the news of their relationship in January 2019, shortly after the Amazon founder and his wife of 25 years, Mackenzie Scott, announced the end of their marriage. The outlet also revealed that Sánchez's 13-year marriage to Patrick Whitesell was over, too. As time passed, the billionaire and the former Fox News anchor started opening up about their bond. Speaking to People in September 2024, Sánchez gushed that mornings were sacred in their home because they kept their phones aside and chatted over coffee before their children woke up. Meanwhile, in an August 2024 chat with People, the helicopter pilot confirmed that she always looked forward to the time they could unwind with a TV show at night. 

Additionally, she revealed that "Presumed Innocent," "Baby Reindeer," and "Severance" were among their faves. When CNN wondered about what made the two of them click, in 2023, Sánchez answered simply, "We're really great teammates, and we also have a lot of fun together." Bezos said, "We bring each other energy, we respect each other." However, despite their insistence, Sánchez and Bezos' relationship is full of strange things that make us question whether their love will stand the test of time. To better understand if their romance's pain points could be their undoing, The List tapped into the expertise of Susan Winter, NYC relationship expert and creator of the "Love À La Carte Method."

A few hours after news of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez's relationship broke, the National Enquirer shared explicit leaked texts they'd purportedly sent each other in May 2018, when both parties were notably still married to other people. In one such message, the Blue Origin founder supposedly wrote, "I love you, alive girl. I will show you with my body, and my lips and my eyes, very soon," (via Page Six). In another message, Bezos told Sánchez that he already knew she was the one and yearned for a future together. 

To make matters worse, the tabloid claimed that he had started flirting with Sánchez at a house party hosted by her then-husband, Patrick Whitesell, back in 2018. While an insider clarified to the New York Post that they only started seeing each other after Bezos' and Mackenzie Scott's private separation that year, it wasn't enough to convince people that their romance didn't begin as an affair. And, according to relationship expert Susan Winter, the alleged infidelity may have created a shaky foundation for their relationship. 

"When both partners have cheated on former spouses, repeating that behavior becomes significantly easier," she warned. As a result, Sánchez and Bezos could find it difficult to fully trust each other, which may lead to arguments about simple things like their whereabouts. This will make things increasingly hard, given that the billionaire's jam-packed schedule likely keeps them apart for long periods of time. While professing that most people would find it difficult to betray their partner's trust the first time, the relationship expert added, "But once that pattern is established, repeating that behavior becomes enticingly seductive."

During a December 2023 interview with Vogue, Lauren Sánchez acknowledged that she had no real idea what her wedding to Jeff Bezos would look like because the couple had essentially nothing figured out as of yet. Granted, the entrepreneur had only popped the questions five months prior at the time. However, in a chat with the Daily Mail, Lauren Sánchez's estranged brother, Michael Sánchez, disclosed that her sister and Bezos initially intended to get married as soon as possible to prevent their relationship from being branded as a scandalous affair. Evidently, those plans didn't come to fruition because news of the alleged affair broke out immediately after the couple went public with their romance. Still, Michael insisted that Lauren and Bezos' wedding plans had been in the works for years, and they wanted an extravagant celebration. 

So, there's a chance that the celebrity couple may not have locked things down simply because their relationship isn't as solid as it seems. According to relationship expert Susan Winter, there are several reasons why the tech billionaire and his journalist fiancée are stalling with their wedding plans. For instance, she posited that the couple may be trying to see what their relationship is like beyond the honeymoon period first, pointing out, "The honeymoon phase is filled with courtship, passion, and heightened emotions. But this phase of the relationship is fairly short-lived." Winter explained that after about three months to a year of bliss, couples often settle into a mundane and practicable routine that dulls their spark, adding, "This phase can mirror the predictable patterns of married life that they found undesirable with their formal spouses."

During Susan Winter's exclusive chat with The List, she also opined that Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez may be delaying their wedding to give each other enough time to gel with their respective families. After arguing that the celebrity couple's inner circles may have trouble accepting their new partners, she professed, "Divorce inevitably forces people to choose sides. It's an unfortunate reality." The relationship expert continued, "Loyalties shift, and those you expected to stand by you, even with your new partner, may disappoint you." And in their case, Lauren's brother apparently refused to support their love. 

In February 2019, insiders at the National Enquirer's parent company, AMI, informed the Daily Beast that Michael Sánchez was the one who leaked Lauren and Bezos' scandalous texts. According to the Wall Street Journal, Michael supposedly received a $200,000 paycheck for selling out his sister. While discussing the scandal with Vanity Fair, Michael insisted that he hadn't shared explicit photos of Bezos with the outlet, while also conceding, "I'm not saying I didn't do something." Meanwhile, in a Page Six interview, Lauren's brother bizarrely stated that he only accepted the National Enquirer's proposition because he wanted the world to know the truth. 

Despite all his ostensibly kind words, though, Michael still proclaimed to the Daily Beast that Lauren and Bezos likely only announced their engagement to turn people's attention away from the fact that he was suing the billionaire for defamation. Suffice it to say that Michael's behavior may have raised some red flags in Bezos' mind about the kind of family he was marrying into.

Lauren Sánchez dated several men before finding love with billionaire Jeff Bezos and the children's author has been engaged several times too. In 2019, an insider dished to Page Six that the former Fox News anchor's first fiancé was sports broadcaster Rory Markas. At the time, Sánchez was still in the early days of her career, working as an intern at a local TV station. However, she ended things with him upon exiting the company. According to The UK Sun, Sánchez worked her way up the ladder and became a reporter at another local TV station, which is what led to her meeting former Denver Broncos player Anthony Miller in 1996. The pro-athlete divulged that his then-girlfriend had relentlessly nagged him to propose, and Miller only popped the question after four years of dating because he didn't want to hear about it anymore. 

While the retired NFL star later claimed that their relationship ended because Sánchez cheated on him, a confidant clarified that he was actually the one who had been unfaithful. After also arguing that the media personality hardly ever paid for anything during their 5-year relationship, Miller complained that she didn't even give his engagement ring back to him following their split in 1999. According to Page Six, the former Fox News host found love with Henry Simmons, and they started living together after getting engaged. However, she struck up a new romance with her now ex-husband, Patrick Whitesell, while still living under Simmons' roof. Given all this, it's pretty safe to say that Sánchez and Bezos' relationship may not be as secure as it seems.

Although it's easy to assume that Jeff Bezos' demanding schedule is what's preventing him from sitting down to plan his wedding to Lauren Sánchez, that may not actually be the case. During Susan Winter's exclusive chat with The List, she recognized that although the tech billionaire likely had more important things on his roster than wedding planning, it wasn't impossible to fit in. "Where there's a will, there's a way," the relationship expert noted. "If the urgency to unite is strong enough, the wedding will happen sooner rather than later, despite the challenges of [the] demanding calendar." 

Of course, the former Amazon CEO could put his considerable fortune to good use and hire a team of wedding planners to alleviate the stress of figuring out the nitty-gritty of their big day. Additionally, it seems like Bezos consistently carves out time for Sánchez in his busy schedule. While delivering a speech at the Economic Club of Washington in 2018, the prolific businessman shared that he preferred to keep his mornings relatively laidback so he could sit back and catch up with his family. 

Likewise, in Sánchez's 2024 People interview, she enthused about the time after their kids (from previous relationships) left home for the day, when the couple was finally left alone to enjoy some peace with their dogs. So, it seems strange that she and Bezos don't have any details of their big day nailed down yet, despite likely discussing it during their quality time together. While there could be several reasons for the prolonged engagement, in the past, a passion project notably put Bezos' wedding to Sánchez on hold.