The timeline of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s relationship

MacKenzie Scott, formerly MacKenzie Bezos, was one of Amazon’s earliest employees. She and Bezos have four children together. 

Hours after their divorce announcement, a second bombshell dropped: Bezos was in a relationship with Lauren Sánchez.

Sánchez was a longtime anchor of “Good Day LA” on Fox 11 and worked as a correspondent on “Extra.”

She’s also a helicopter pilot and founded an aerial filming company, Black Ops Aviation, in 2016.

Sánchez and Whitesell had been married since 2005, but at the time the news broke, the couple had reportedly been separated since that fall.

Though it’s unclear when Bezos and Sánchez’s romance began, according to reporter Brad Stone’s book Amazon Unbound, the pair connected at an Amazon Studios party for the film “Manchester by the Sea” in 2016.

In March 2018, Sánchez was invited to Amazon’s annual MARS conference in Palm Springs, the book says. One month later, they had dinner with Sánchez’s brother, Michael, in Los Angeles. That July, Bezos hired Sánchez’s company to film footage for his rocket company, Blue Origin.

Sánchez helped Bezos get over his fear of flying, which followed a 2003 helicopter crash.

The Enquirer said it had tracked the couple “across five states and 40,000 miles, tailed them in private jets, swanky limos, helicopter rides, romantic hikes, five-star hotel hideaways, intimate dinner dates and ‘quality time’ in hidden love nests.” 

Page Six, which published the news a few hours before the Enquirer, reported that Bezos and his then-wife knew that the Enquirer report was coming out and had timed their divorce announcement to get ahead of the news.

Page Six also reported at the time that Bezos and Sánchez started dating after he and Scott had separated the previous fall, and that Scott knew of the relationship.

The Enquirer said it had gotten its hands on “raunchy messages” and “erotic selfies,” including a text that reportedly read: “I love you, alive girl.”

Bezos later accused The Enquirer’s publisher and its then-CEO of trying to blackmail him.

Bezos bankrolled an investigation into who was leaking his photos and texts to the tabloid, and he wrote in a February 2019 blog post that the publisher threatened to publish explicit photos of Bezos unless he shut down the probe.

The investigation initially pointed to Michael Sánchez, Lauren’s brother, as the leaker, but he has denied the accusations.

Bezos and Scott had finalized the terms of their divorce in April 2019, and Sánchez and Whitesell filed for divorce the following day. Bezos’ and Scott’s divorce was finalized that July, and Bezos and Sánchez stepped out in public for Wimbledon a few days later.

The couple were seated behind the royals at the men’s Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic at the All England Club. 

A few months prior to Wimbledon, the couple had attended another exclusive event: the annual Allen & Company conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.

The celebration included a private dinner and a star-studded party attended by guests such as Diane von Furstenberg, Barry Diller, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, and Timothée Chalamet.

The following month, Sanchez accompanied Bezos on a trip to India, where they visited Mahatma Gandhi’s tomb and walked the red carpet with Bezos at an Amazon Prime Video event in Mumbai.

A few weeks later, Sanchez traveled with Bezos to another international event — a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, France.

In July 2021, Bezos lifted off aboard a Blue Origin rocket in the company’s first human spaceflight.

Bezos was accompanied by his brother, Mark; 82-year-old aviator Wally Funk; and Dutch teen Oliver Daemen on the quick voyage to the edge of space.

Sánchez was in attendance, embracing Bezos after he safely touched back down on Earth.

The home, purchased for an undisclosed sum in October 2021, is located in an isolated area on the island’s south shore near lava fields.

“Jeff and Lauren love Maui, have a home on the island, visit frequently, and want to be a part of supporting the local community,” an unnamed person close to the couple told Pacific Business News at the time.

After catastrophic wildfires swept through Maui in 2023, Bezos and Sánchez said they would create a $100 million fund to help those affected.

Sánchez has said that when they’re spending time at home, it’s low-key. Otherwise, the couple is often spotted attending high-profile functions and traveling abroad. They’ve been seen at events like the Met Gala, or sunbathing on Bezos’ $500 million superyacht.

There’s also been speculation that the figurehead on Bezos’ yacht, of a woman with long hair in a flowing dress, is supposed to be Sánchez.

Multiple news outlets reported in May 2023 that they were engaged.

The couple marked their engagement with a party that August on Bezos’ yacht, featuring attendees like Bill Gates and Kris Jenner.

They had a second engagement party later that year at the Beverly Hills home of their close friends, Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller. Guests reportedly included Oprah, Kris Jenner, Barbra Streisand, and Robert Pattinson.

He said the couple was moving to Miami to be closer to his parents and Blue Origin’s operations in Cape Canaveral. Prior to that, Bezos had spent 29 years in Seattle.

“I’ve lived in Seattle longer than I’ve lived anywhere else and have so many amazing memories here. As exciting as the move is, it’s an emotional decision for me. Seattle, you will always have a piece of my heart,” Bezos wrote on Instagram.

Bezos’ real estate portfolio includes three properties on Miami’s Indian Creek island, an exclusive enclave nicknamed “Billionaire Bunker.”

Bezos and Sánchez were among tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Sundar Pichai who attended Trump’s inauguration.

She led an all-woman crew on a Blue Origin spaceflight; joining her were singer Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. Bezos, of course, was on the scene close by.

Bezos and Sánchez’s wedding took place in June 2025, and guests included the Kardashians, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Ivanka Trump.

They were also met with protests, however, by locals worried about overtourism in the historic city.