Food Network Star and TV Actor Break off Engagement

Sandra Lee and Ben Youcef won’t be saying “I Do.” TMZ has learned the longtime couple has called off their engagement, as Lee’s rep, Jen Abel, confirmed the Food Network staple and actor have split after five years together. Lee was also famously with former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo before they split in 2019 after 14 years together.

The news of their split comes after TMZ caught up with Lee in NYC last week. When asked about any concrete wedding plans, she changed the subject. She also wasn’t wearing her engagement ring at the time, which caused further speculation of a split.

“I’m focused on work right now, Lee told TMZ when asked about a wedding date. When asked if the reporter could see the ring, she flashed an empty hand, noting, “I’m not wearing much jewelry tonight.

Lee and Youcef met in early 2021. They got engaged the same year. It’s unclear what led to their split.

Regarding her lengthy relationship with Cuomo, Lee revealed there was a final straw in their relationship, and it came four years after she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer. “I was in my kitchen, and he said something. And the minute he said it, I knew what he’d just said. And every window and door closed. And that was it,” Lee explained to US Weekly in 2024, as reported by FOX News. “He knows what it is. I know what it is,” she said, but wouldn’t elaborate on what it was. 

She would also accuse him of being absent amid her cancer treatment. “Cancer is aggressive and tricky, and it hides and waits,” she said in the same interview. “I had to spend a year dealing with that as aggressively as I could.”

Lee even said during treatment, which coincided with one of her birthdays, Cuomo was MIA. “I spent the day by myself. I was sitting on my lawn alone,” Lee recalled. “My birthday was a precious day to me, especially that one. I’m not someone who feels sorry for themselves, but that day was a bit much for me.”