Sanchez, 49, is also divorcing husband and Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell, WHO confirms. The two have been married for 13 years. A source tells WHO Bezos and Sanchez have been spotted spending more and more time together in recent months.
“Lauren and Jeff have been spending a lot of time together over the last year and especially the past few months,” the source tells WHO. “At first it was socially at parties… here and there. But their time together has definitely seemed to evolve, raising some eyebrows. Jeff has met a small group of Lauren’s girlfriends, too. The two of them are sort of thick as thieves right now.”
Sanchez’s husband, Whitesell, is one of Hollywood’s most powerful agents. Sources tell WHO Bezos and Sanchez looked friendly at a Golden Globes afterparty on Sunday.
Another insider tells WHO, “Patrick and Lauren have been on and off for a while and have been separated. [Patrick] knew they were seeing each other.”
Bezos and MacKenzie announced in a statement on the billionaire’s Twitter that they had decided to continue their “shared lives as friends.”
“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,” they added in the statement.
“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,” the statement said.
Jeff and MacKenzie have four children together — three sons and a daughter.
The former Good Day LA host and frequent contributor to Extra and The View shares two kids with Whitesell and also has a son from a previous relationship.
In 2018, Bezos bested Bill Gates on Forbes’ annual ranking of the world’s billionaires. Today, Bloomberg reports that Jeff’s net worth is now $137 billion, making him the richest person in the world.
Amazon shares dipped slightly immediately following the divorce announcement.
Washington, where the couple resides, is a community property state, which means that all assets and debts accrued during the marriage are considered owned equally by both spouses unless there was a prenuptial agreement stating otherwise. It has not been made public whether Bezos and MacKenzie had a prenup when they married before moving to Seattle and founding Amazon.
This article was first published by People.