Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez at a party together in 2016. Photo / Getty Images
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez at a party together in 2016. Photo / Getty Images
The world's richest man Jeff Bezos is reportedly furious that his new girlfriend shared his raunchy love notes with her friends.
As he celebrates his 55th birthday, Bezos is riding through the week from hell — weathering the storm of his public divorce and allegations of an affair.
According to The Mirror's Sunday People, sources close to the Amazon boss said he's not impressed that his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez was "so careless" to share details of their private conversations with friends.
TV news anchor Lauren Sanchez. Photo / Getty Images
"He is hugely embarrassed how such details of what he has sent have been made public," according to The Mirror's Sunday People.
Ms Sanchez's boasting about her new romance are said to have been the spark that ignited the curiosity of US National Enquirer journalists who trailed the pair for the last half of 2018 — and eventually outed their alleged affair.
It's understood Ms Sanchez had sent text messages to a friend showing off her new relationship with the billionaire and the friend then sent them to The Enquirer.
Then four journalists published damning reports, including details of the pair's text messages, to back up their claims of an affair between Bezos and Ms Sanchez for most of 2018.
The paper alleged that it was his affair with Ms Sanchez that triggered his marriage breakdown with his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie — however other publications and his own statement have disputed this.
"He went to great lengths to keep their relationship secret but, unbeknown to him, he was being shadowed for months after Lauren shared his messages with friends," a source told The Mirror, in response to the details that were published in The Enquirer.
"He is upset and has told Lauren in no uncertain terms."
Bezos confirmed their divorce on Twitter last week, which could become the biggest legal battle in divorce court history as MacKenzie may be entitled to half of his $US144 billion fortune. This could potentially make her the world's richest woman.
'EXPLORATION DURING SEPARATION'
While The Enquirer called Ms Sanchez the billionaire's 'mistress', Bezos maintained he and his wife had "a long period of loving exploration and trial separation," before they decided to finalise their divorce.
It was alleged that text messages which indicate Bezos romantic relationship with Ms Sanchez date back to April 2018.
Jeff Bezos and his wife writer MacKenzie Bezos announced their divorce on Twitter last week. Photo / AP
"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," he tweeted on January 10, two days before his 55th birthday.
He said the couple planned to remain "cherished friends" after their split.
Ms Sanchez is also mid-divorce with her husband Patrick Whitesell. The Enquirer claimed their high-profile split has been in formation since November 2018, around the same time Bezos and Ms Sanchez are said to have informed their spouses of their relationship.
The pair were photographed last week's Golden Globes, the same week his divorce was confirmed on Twitter.
So sorry to hear the news about Jeff Bozo being taken down by a competitor whose reporting, I understand, is far more accurate than the reporting in his lobbyist newspaper, the Amazon Washington Post. Hopefully the paper will soon be placed in better & more responsible hands!
Bezos owns The Washington Post which is highly critical of US President Donald Trump, while The Enquirer has been known to kill stories critical of the president.
This has led some to claim The Enquirer had more motive than simply outing a cheating man.
Some suspect their gunning of Bezos is a powerplay in the long-running feud between him and Trump.
On Monday the president tweeted his confirmation that he was satisfied with The Enquirer's reporting, saying: "So sorry to hear the news about Jeff Bozo being taken down by a competitor whose reporting, I understand, is far more accurate than the reporting in his lobbyist newspaper, the Amazon Washington Post. Hopefully the paper will soon be placed in better & more responsible hands!"
