Was Jeff Bezos stepping out on wife MacKenzie before the two announced their divorce?
A report from the National Enquirer details that Bezos, 54, was having an affair with his friend Patrick Whitesell’s wife, former Extra host Lauren Sanchez, during his marriage. The two have reportedly been seeing each other for eight months, according to the outlet, which obtained photos of them together across five states and claims that Bezos and Sanchez’s respective spouses were recently made aware of the affair.
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The Amazon CEO and MacKenzie, who have been married for 25 years, share four children: three sons and a daughter. Sanchez has two children with Whitesell, a WWE/IMG agent. She also has a 17-year-old son with ex Tony Gonzalez.
Whitesell, Sanchez and Bezos were photographed together in 2016 while promoting the Amazon-distributed award-winner Manchester by the Sea, which starred Whitesell’s client Michelle Williams.
Bezos and MacKenzie announced their divorce in a joint statement on Wednesday following a trial separation.
“We want to make people aware of a development in our lives. As our family and close friends know, after a long period of loving exploration and trial separation, we have decided to divorce and continue our shared lives as friends,” the statement shared via Twitter read. “We feel incredibly lucky to have found each other and deeply grateful for every one of the years we have been married to each other. If we had known we would separate after 25 years, we would do it all again.”
The joint statement concluded: “We’ve had such a great life together as a married couple, and we also see wonderful futures ahead, as parents, friends, partners in ventures and projects, and as individuals pursuing ventures and adventures. Though the labels might be different, we remain a family, and we remain cherished friends.”
Bezos and MacKenzie married in 1993 after meeting in New York while working at an investment management firm. The two moved to Seattle, where Bezos founded Amazon; MacKenzie was one of the company’s first employees.
The estranged couple have not yet officially filed for divorce, according to reports. It’s unclear how long they have been separated, although Bezos has made several solo appearances to recent high-profile events.
