Jeff Bezos' Girlfriend Lauren Sanchez Has 'Uncanny Ability to Make People Do Anything': Source
Jeff Bezos’ new girlfriend Lauren Sanchez loves to have fun — and has the kind of personality that makes others want to join in, a source tells PEOPLE.
“Lauren has a really bubbly personality and likes to have fun and go out,” a source explains of the former news anchor turned helicopter pilot. “She’s very social — always has been and always will be. She’s the kind of person who at 49 will still grab a group of girlfriends and helicopter to the desert for a weekend at Coachella.”
“On the face of it, she seems like the polar opposite of Bezos, but maybe that’s why he was so drawn to her,” the insider adds. “She’s not an uncanny ability to make people do anything — she’s very persuasive — both intentionally and unintentionally.”
News of the 55-year-old Amazon CEO’s romance with Sanchez became public shortly after Bezos announced his divorce from his 48-year-old wife of 25 years, MacKenzie, on Wednesday. The couple has four children, three sons and a daughter.
Sanchez is also divorcing her husband, Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell, PEOPLE confirmed. The two have been married for 13 years and share two children together. She also has a son from a previous relationship.
RELATED: Lauren Sanchez and Estranged Husband Patrick Whitesell Are Still Living Together Amid Divorce
Just days before announcing his divorce, Bezos was spotted chatting with Sanchez and Whitesell, 53, at Amazon’s Golden Globes party after the awards show, a partygoer told PEOPLE.
“Jeff was in great spirits and having lots of fun,” the source said of the billionaire. “He had a crowd of people around him. Lauren was there but wasn’t with Jeff all the time. Her husband was there, too.”
Since then, Bezos has been keeping out of the public eye and hasn’t been spotted around his family home in Seattle.
A different source told PEOPLE on Friday how the father of four was coping with the fallout of his divorce. “When Jeff Bezos went to bed Sunday night, he had no idea what type of week he was going to have,” the source said.
Shortly after Bezos announced his divorce, the National Enquirer published a months-long investigation into him and his relationship with Sanchez, alleging the two had traveled to “exotic destinations on his $65 million private jet.”
RELATED: Jeff Bezos ‘Had No Idea the Type of Week He Was Going to Have’ Before Divorce News
Bezos is the richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $137 billion. Included in his fortune are a multi-million dollar real estate portfolio, various charitable gifts and foundations and about 16 percent of Amazon’s stock, all of which will most likely need to be divvied up — in half, if he and MacKenzie did not have a prenuptial agreement.
The two announced they were separating but 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.
