Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Fiance Used to Pester Shaquille O’Neal’s Agent & Visit Lakers Locker Room as a Reporter (Exclusive)

‘Everything happens for a reason’. That’s a common phrase thrown around by people to come to terms with certain things. When Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos met Lauren Sanchez, a stunning reporter in 2016, that probably wasn’t on their mind. Three years later, that’s exactly how it transpired. Both of them had a broken marriage with partners they spent over a decade with. In their merry way, that is how they found a way to each other.

Bezos is known globally as a business tycoon. He is a trailblazer in product distribution and has even revolutionized the world of streaming with Amazon Prime. Sanchez is just as acclaimed and accomplished in her career. Los Angeles in particular might know her from being a co-host on Fox’s Good Day LA for six years. However, the soon-to-be Ms. Bezos also had a brief career as a sports reporter that a good deal of people might not know of.

When covering with our NBA correspondent Vishal Kolar, Leonard Armato, a man who led the revolution of player marketing for legends such as Shaquille O’Neal, detailed the importance of media, their pivotal role, and his numerous interactions with Jeff Bezos’ to-be-wife.

Vishal: Now I know with social media it is a lot different when you were dealing with these big athletes back in the day trying to facilitate trades and acquisitions. Did you ever use insiders or reporters in order to kind of send a message or kind of get a client out of a current team or facilitate a trade? Like, what are your thoughts on that?

Armato: Well, the media is always going to be a tool you use because it influences public opinion. And you want to have good relationships with the top reporters and they want good relations with you if you are an agent or a representative because they want to get the inside information. I mean, I can remember so many reporters back when I was representing Shaq and others where they would always be calling me and asking me if there’s anything new, any inside. And if they saw something happening, a dynamic on the team, they wanted to get facts or the inside information. I can even remember Jeff Bezos’ fiance, Lauren Sanchez, used to be a reporter in Los Angeles. She was always trying to get the scoop and everything that was going on, you know, during that period of time. So it’s nothing new.

It’s just a situation now that there is so much more interest in what’s going on behind the scenes and the stories are deeper and more intricate. And there’s a lot more detail than ever before. So there’s a lot more reporting done than back in the day when I was representing Shaq and others. So it is an interesting time, and the media has tremendous influence. But at the same time, you are not going to tell them anything that hasn’t been discussed with your client before.

Vishal: Yes, that’s crazy, the Lauren Sanchez connection there. I did not know she was a beat reporter. Wow!

Armato: Yeah, she used to be a sports reporter, and she was in the locker rooms and always getting the inside scoop on everything.

Lauren Sanchez was far more than just an ordinary reporter. She began her illustrious career in front of the camera in 1997. In her time on air, the celebrated news anchor was honored with an Emmy for her contributions to the success of many decorated shows. Additionally, her career even extended to films. The 53-year-old has appeared in classics such as ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Day After Tomorrow’.

In May last year, Bezos finally dropped to one knee to pop the question. Even now, the fine piece of craftsmanship is visible on her ring finger from acres away.

The change in Lauren Sanchez’s career no one saw coming

After spending well over two decades as a successful news anchor and an award-winning journalist, most would call it a day. Lauren Sanchez, though was brimming with adrenaline. As a young woman, she saw her dad soar through the skies as a commercial pilot. The rush she felt in the air couldn’t compare to anything. That’s when she decided to make an unprecedented shift to aerial filmmaking.

Sanchez earned her pilot’s license in 2011 and a helicopter’s license in 2016. Since that moment, she hasn’t looked back. She has a sacred infatuation with her helicopter. “Isn’t she gorgeous?”, she told a Vogue reporter referencing to her Bell 429 helicopter. The former news anchor has worked on countless projects since, including acting as a consultant in Christopher Nolan’s war thriller ‘Dunkirk’.

In 2016, though, she would make history. She founded Block Ops Aviation, the first female-owned aerial film and production company. The beautiful and charismatic Sanchez serves as a CEO and, unsurprisingly, a pilot. In her spare time, she often takes her kids on helicopter tours of her and Bezos’ 400,000-acre West Texas ranch.

She is truly a wonder woman, someone who still enjoys the thrill and adrenaline her passion has to offer. This is all from this segment of our talk with Leonard Armato. Be on the lookout for more stories from the hour-long interview with the savvy agent.

For more such content, don’t forget to watch the full episode of our exclusive conversation with Leonard Armato!