Jeff Bezos’ girlfriend Lauren Sanchez says Southwest rejected her as a flight attendant because of her weight
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Jeff Bezos’ girlfriend Lauren Sanchez rrevealed that she was once turned down for a flight attendant job because of her weight.
The 53-year-old journalist and helicopter pilot recalls that she aspired to become a flight attendant when she was 18, but lost her position at Southwest Airlines in 1989 after failing the mandatory weigh-in.
“Then they weighed me and I weighed 121 pounds,” the Emmy Award winner recalled during an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “They said, ‘You must be 115.’
Jeff Bezos’ girlfriend Lauren Sanchez has revealed she was once turned down for a job as a flight attendant at Southwest Airlines because of her weight. (Getty/Getty Images)
Sanchez told the publication that she would react differently if this situation happened now.
The media personality said she would tell the airline, “I don’t want to be a flight attendant. I want to be a pilot!”
Until the 1990s, many airlines had strict height and weight requirements for flight attendants and mandatory weigh-ins.
According to Southwest Airlines’ career page, “the weight of flight attendant applicants should be in such proportion to their height as to maintain a neat appearance and not impede their physical ability to perform all job functions.”
In addition, job seekers “must be able to lift objects up to 50 pounds from the floor to shoulder level as required.”
A Southwest Airlines representative did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Sanchez became a reporter and anchor at KTVK in Phoenix, Arizona and later worked at Fox Sports Net, Fox 11 and Extra in Los Angeles.
The 53-year-old journalist and helicopter pilot recalls that she aspired to become a flight attendant when she was 18, but lost her position in 1989 after failing the mandatory weigh-in. (Daniel Jack Lyons for WSJ Magazine. / Fox News)
The New Mexico native, whose parents were pilots, earned her helicopter pilot’s license in 2016. She later started Black Ops Aviation, a woman-owned aerial film and production company.
Sanchez said he makes an effort to fly at least three times a week to stay up-to-date and often climbs into the cockpit to fly Bezos, 59, and their families around the world.
“I don’t know why more women don’t do it,” she told the WSJ.
The former “View” host. explained that she founded Black Ops Aviation when she noticed the lack of other female-owned aviation companies.,
“Less than nine percent of pilots are women,” she said. “It is! Of this percentage, helicopter pilots are even less. How many female pilots do you see in each movie? What do you see? You see male pilots. And so [women] they don’t realize they can do it.”
Sanchez said other women are surprised and impressed when they learn she is a pilot.
“They’re shocked!” she said. “They’re like, ‘What? You’re such a badass!” And I mean, it’s really not that hard. I want more women to get involved.”
Sanchez told the WSJ that she is very excited about her plans to lead Blue Origin’s all-female space mission by 2024.
“It will be women who change the world and who have an impact and a message to send,” she said.
Five women will join Sanchez on the mission, but their names will not be announced until closer to the launch date.
The former broadcaster said working with Bezos on the Blue Origin mission and other projects was “the greatest experience I’ve ever had.” (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images)
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Although Sanchez said Bezos is getting his pilot’s license, she said the Amazon founder won’t be joining her of the mission.
“As much as he wants to go on that flight, I’m going to have to hold him,” Sanchez said. “He’ll be cheering us all on from the sidelines.”
Sanchez and Bezos went public with their relationship in 2019 while both were divorcing their ex-husbands, Patrick Whitesell and Mackenzie Scott.
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The former broadcaster said working with Bezos on the Blue Origin mission and other projects was “the greatest experience I’ve ever had.”
“I’ve always had a very separate career from my partner,” she said. “I think now I can work with my partner and be with him all the time… We love being together and we love working together.”
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