Jeff Bezos-Lauren Sanchez wedding: I am ashamed, we will….; Venice Mayor makes shocking remarks
Love is in the air! Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is marrying Lauren Sánchez, a former TV journalist whom he got engaged to in 2023 and sent to space on his Blue Origin rocket for a brief moment, too. Sánchez and Bezos are planning an extravagant three-day wedding celebration from June 24 to 26, according to a spokesman of the mayor of Venice’s office who spoke to CNN. This event is anticipated to create a star-studded roster of celebrities and powerful guests on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice.
Earlier this year, in March, the city of Venice officially announced this wedding, and they estimated the guest list to be roughly 200 guests. It is unclear what the actual amount, but Mayor Luigi Brugnaro reassured people in the statement that “we are mutually working and supporting the organizers, to ensure that the event will be absolutely respectful of the fragility and uniqueness of the city,” reported Vanityfair.
The upcoming wedding in Venice of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez has divided opinions in the city, as many locals have protested the wedding while other locals, including city officials, have welcomed the wedding. The Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, expressed his strong support for Bezos and Sanchez, saying, “I want Jeff Bezos to be welcomed with open arms in Venice. Protesting against those who bring visibility and wealth to our territory is, in my opinion, a disgrace.” Speaking to reporters on Friday, Brugnaro added, “We will have to apologize to Bezos. I am ashamed of those who behave like this. I hope that Bezos comes anyway. Not all Venetians think like these protesters,” he told protestors.
At the Venice Architecture Biennale, many people agreed with what the city officials said. A visitor from Berlin, Görge Meyer, said to CNN, “It seems ridiculous that a city that lives off tourism like Venice wouldn’t want an event like this, which will employ hundreds of people from waiters to water taxi drivers. All the guests and journalists will be staying at hotels, eating at restaurants and spending money.”
Both Bezos, 61, and Sánchez, 55, has been married previously. Jeff Bezos was married to MacKenzie Scott from 1993 until they divorced in 2019. They have four children together, their oldest son Preston Bezos, as well as two sons and a daughter, whose names and birth dates are not available publicly. Sánchez had been married to talent agent Patrick Whitesell for 2005 until they divorced in 2019. They have two children together – their daughter Ella and son Evan. Sánchez has a son named Nikko Gonzalez born in 2001 from a previous relationship with former NFL player Tony Gonzalez.
According to Italian media, the wedding party has booked almost every luxury hotel in the area and also a considerable amount of water taxis, demonstrating the planned scale and extravagance of the wedding.
“Venice is being treated like a showcase, a stage,” Federica Toninelli, a 33-year-old Venetian activist affiliated with the No Space for Bezos protest group was quoted as saying by BBC. He added,”And this wedding is the symbol of the exploitation of the city by outsiders… Venice is now just an asset.”
No Space for Bezos brings together activists from different Venetian collectives – from those hoping to get more housing for Venice’s ever-dwindling population, to the anti-cruise ship group.
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