Lauren Sánchez isn't afraid to turn heads.
She could also care less about raising eyebrows, the Good Day LA alum choosing to wear a lacy low-cut top that could've been a bra under her Alexander McQueen suit jacket to President Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.
And, because the 55-year-old is engaged to billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who heartily congratulated Trump on his election victory in November, Sánchez had a prime seat for the swearing-in. Which meant that all eyes were on her ensemble, which may have been in keeping with her personal style but was deemed too risqué for the occasion by her most vocal critics.
She donned a less polarizing look for that evening's Starlight Ball, a flowing apricot gown by Dolce & Gabbana, and went about her business. Yet her various "likes" on Instagram comments praising her Inauguration Day look may as well have been middle fingers.
Because Sánchez isn't one to be fazed by haters, the TV host turned helicopter pilot and children's book author having already run the tabloid gauntlet with Bezos, 61, when they first joined forces as a couple.
Here is more to know about Sánchez:
Who is Jeff Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sánchez?
Before being linked to Bezos, Sánchez was best known as a news anchor and entertainment reporter in Los Angeles, having worked for local stations KCOP and KTTV, as well as served as a co-host of the morning show Good Day LA and as a correspondent for Extra.
The Albuquerque, N.M., native was also the original host of Fox's So You Think You Can Dance when it premiered in 2005, only doing one season before the job was turned over to Cat Deeley, who remains behind the mic to this day.
Off-camera, Sánchez—whose dad worked as a flight instructor and airplane mechanic—is a longtime flying enthusiast. She started with planes, and once she earned her helicopter license in 2016, she founded Black Ops Aviation, a production company specializing in aerial filming.
Among the feathers in her cap: Serving as a consultant on Christopher Nolan's World War II epic Dunkirk.
"I had my job, I had a career, and then I found a calling," Sánchez told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. "I loved entertainment and I loved filming, and so I got to combine all of it."
Was Lauren Sánchez married when she met Jeff Bezos?
Sánchez married talent agent Patrick Whitesell in 2005 and they share son Evan Whitesell, 18, and daughter Eleanor "Ella" Whitesell, 15. She's also mom to son Nikko Gonzalez, 23, from a previous relationship with former NFL player Tony Gonzalez.
Bezos, Sánchez and Whitesell, who's currently executive chairman of Endeavor Group Holdings, were all photographed together at a party in 2016 for the Oscar-winning film Manchester by the Sea, which counted Whitesell client Matt Damon as a producer and was distributed by Amazon Studios.
So Sánchez and Bezos were in each other's social orbit for awhile before they emerged as a couple in January 2019—on the same day Bezos shared that he and wife MacKenzie Scott were divorcing after 25 years. It soon followed that Sánchez and Whitesell had separated the previous fall.
When the National Enquirer subsequently published alleged lusty text messages between Sánchez and Bezos, purportedly to shed light on how much their relationship overlapped with his marriage, a lawyer for Bezos pushed back against the alleged scoop, saying it was "widely known" that he and Scott were "long separated."
And Bezos and Sánchez have been together ever since, their enduring partnership having long overshadowed their supposedly scandalous origin story.
Whitesell has also since remarried, tying the knot with Australian model Pia Miller in 2021, while Bezos' ex Scott—now a billionaire philanthropist in her own right—has married and divorced science teacher Dan Jewett.
When did Jeff Bezos get engaged to Lauren Sánchez?
Sources confirmed the couple's engagement to E! News in May 2023.
The pink cushion-cut diamond ring Bezos gave Sánchez that's estimated to be between 25 and 30 carats filled in the blanks.
And they seem to be enjoying that betrothed life, traveling the world and making glamorous appearances at VIP events such as the annual Vanity Fair Oscar party and the 2024 Met Gala.
But in a rare X post about his personal life, Bezos shut down a report that a $600 million wedding was in the works in Aspen, Colo., last month, posting Dec. 22, "Furthermore, this whole thing is completely false—none of this is happening. The old adage 'don’t believe everything you read' is even more true today than it ever has been."
How did Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos blend their families?
Bezos shares four children with his ex-wife and they maintain an extremely low profile, their eldest—son Preston, born in 2000—being the only one whose name is public.
But they all have gotten to know their dad's fiancée and her kids.
"On a typical Saturday, we hang out, we have dinner with the kids, which is always fun because you never know where the conversation is going to go with this many kids," Sánchez told WSJ. Magazine in a January 2023 interview. "We are the Brady Bunch!"
She got a crash course in co-parenting when she and Gonzalez split up, she explained, and it became her model for what a blended family could look like.
"Tony and his wife [October "Tobie" Gonzalez] are my best friends," Sánchez said. "Tony and Tobie were at Thanksgiving with us [in 2022]. I'm so proud of it. My son looks at me, and he's like, ‘I'm the luckiest boy in the world because I can have Thanksgiving with both my parents and they don't have to be married.'"
Noting that she had more experience with this dynamic than Bezos, Sánchez added, "I'm not saying that being best friends with your ex is the end-all be-all. But you do need to be able to communicate."
What does Jeff Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sánchez do for work now?
In addition to still running Black Ops Aviation and championing Bezos' efforts behind the controls—"I’ve also learned how to fly the helicopter,” the Blue Origin founder told CNN in 2022, "and she’s a horrible backseat pilot. She’s terrible!"—Sánchez released a children's book, The Fly Who Flew to Space, last year. She also has been pursuing philanthropic endeavors with Bezos, whose estimated net worth as of Jan. 21, per Forbes, is $243.8 billion.
"We're really great teammates, and we also have a lot of fun together,” Sánchez told CNN. "And we love each other… We always look at each other and we're the team."
Added Bezos, "It’s easy. We bring each other energy, we respect each other. So, it’s fun to work together."
And, as the partner of such a consequential high-profile figure, Sánchez has reined in what she might have publicly shared in another life (hence her subtle response to her fashion critics).
"It's hard. I'm a very open person," she told WSJ. Magazine. "I talk a lot. I like to tell all my secrets. I have had to learn that I can't do that. It's a good lesson."
So, she no longer shares her location or otherwise posts "things that I normally would have before" on Instagram. As she put it, "I have to be more private, a little more controlled, and that's fine."
Not that there isn't some evidence of what they've been up to. See Sánchez and Bezos' love story in photos:
Love All
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez took their love to Centre Court's Royal Box at Wimbledon in July 2019.
Before the World Turned
The couple celebrated Amazon Prime Video in Mumbai on Jan. 16, 2020, aka pre-pandemic.
Fun in the Sun
Life was a beach again in 2021.
The More We Get Together
"My heart is full," Lauren captioned her 2023 Valentine's Day snaps.
Movie Date
Black tie preferred at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in March 2023.
Lady in Red
Jeff was a proud plus one when Lauren was honored at the This Is About Humanity 5th Anniversary Soiree Aug. 26, 2023, in L.A.
The Post Most
Jeff, who bought the Washington Post in 2013, applauded Lauren at the IWMF Courage in Journalism Awards Oct. 23, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
Making a Difference
They made a night of it in New York at the ICCF U.S. Congressional International Conservation Leadership Awards Dinner on Oct. 24, 2023.
Garden of Eden
Lauren wore a "shattered glass" gown by Oscar de la Renta to the 2024 Met Gala, the couple's first time attending fashion's premiere event together.
A Man for All Seasons
Lauren's fall 2024 photo dump featured this sweet gem.
A-Plus Book Report
Jeff paid tribute to Lauren on her 55th birthday Dec. 19, 2024, with a photo celebrating the release of The Fly Who Flew to Space—which rocketed right onto the New York Times Best Seller List.
"What an incredible year — you set your mind to writing a children’s book and now you’re a NYT best selling author," he wrote on Instagram. "I have a feeling your next trip around the sun will be just as amazing. Happy birthday, baby!"
Amazon Prime
The power couple were among the VIPs who secured a prime viewing position to watch President Donald Trump be sworn in for a second time on Jan. 20, 2025.
All Dressed In White
Following the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, 2025, Jeff and Lauren stepped out for the annual Vanity Fair Oscars Party, where she wore a bridal-inspired Oscar de la Renta gown.
Out of This World
As Lauren set off on the all-female Blue Origin space flight alongside Gayle King, Katy Perry, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, activist Amanda Nguyen and producer Kerianne Flynn, Jeff—who founded the space tech company in 2000—was right there to escort his fiancée aboard the rocket.
“I’m so excited for you, I don’t wanna get off,” he said before the takeoff on April 14, 2025. “I wanna go with you.”