Showing up Lauren Sanchez! Patrick Whitesell's Aussie wife shows off her natural beauty as she steps out in LA - while his ex-wife pulls out all the stops in epic Venice wedding to Jeff Bezos

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Patrick Whitesell's gorgeous Aussie wife Pia was all smiles on Friday as she stepped out for a stroll in LA, flaunting her natural beauty and slim physique.
The Hollywood agent, 60, and his actress partner, 41, have been the talk of the town this week as his ex-wife prepares to marry her affair partner Jeff Bezos.
Lauren Sanchez and the Amazon founder, 61, made headlines six years ago when their illicit affair came to light, effectively ending two marriages – Lauren, 55, and Patrick, and Jeff and MacKenzie Scott.
But while Jeff and Lauren put on an over-the-top wedding in Venice, Pia proved she has no care in the world as she enjoyed a day out in the sun with a friend.
The former Home and Away star radiated joy as she showed off her figure and model good looks in casual athleisure wear.
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She slipped her long legs into a pair of black leggings and flashed her toned midriff with a cropped grey tank top.
Opting for a fresh-faced look with minimal makeup, Pia tucked her dark locks beneath a black cap and accessorised with a pair of bright green sneakers.
Pia appeared to be engrossed in easy conversation with her walking buddy, and carried a bottle of water to stay hydrated.
The TV star enjoyed the quiet life as her husband's ex-wife prepared to tie the knot in a highly publicised and ostentatious ceremony across the ocean in Italy.
Lauren and Jeff were spotted stepping onto a water taxi in Venice on Friday as they made their way to a star-studded rehearsal dinner.
The soon-to-be Mrs Bezos, who received a $3million engagement ring in 2023, gave onlookers a glimpse of what we can expect from a wedding said to cost up to $20million.
She shuffled onto the Venetian canal vehicle in a constrictive gown with an extremely cinched waist and shimmering gold corset.
Culled from Schiaparelli's 2025 couture collection, the dress wasn't bespoke but it certainly took some clout to secure it and comes with a price tag of up to $100,000.
The structured frock will certainly be a standout at the rehearsal, which Lauren will need in a room filled with some of the world's biggest stars.
A-list guests like Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner were spotted running for cover amid a freak thunderstorm during a pre-wedding party.
The lavish event held at the Madonna dell'Orto cloisters marked the start of the billionaire couple's lavish three-day wedding in Venice, Italy.
However, day one saw guests dive for cover as lightning bolts flashed across the sky and thunder rumbled overhead at the end of what was a torridly humid day.
Torrential downpours and strong wind left guests soaked as they dashed for water taxis which had been scrambled a good 45 minutes ahead of the midnight finish time.
The strong gusts of winds whipped tablecloths away and sent waiters scurrying for umbrellas to protect the VIP attendees.
One onlooker said: 'It just goes to show you can have all the money in the world but you can't control the weather - although an Italian saying says a wet bride is a happy and lucky bride.'
Lauren and Jeff are set to tie the knot on Friday, June 27, in Venice, Italy, after a two-year engagement.
Opting for a fresh-faced look with minimal makeup, Pia tucked her dark locks beneath a black cap and accessorised with a pair of bright green sneakers
The Amazon billionaire and his bride-to-be are said to have invited 200 people to their three-day Italian wedding.
Along with Kim Kardashian, Ellie Goulding, Khloé Kardashian and Ivanka Trump, the star-studded guest list includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom and Tom Brady.
Earlier this week, a copy of the couple's invite was leaked, with one very specific request made on behalf of the couple.
They've asked guests not to buy them any presents and told them they'll be making donations to multiple charities working to stop Venice from sinking on attendees' behalf instead.
Jeff is thought to be spending roughly $15 to $20million on his and Lauren's Italian nuptials.
On Thursday, a source closely connected to the organisation of the week's events revealed to DailyMail.com exclusively that Jeff and Lauren are already legally married.
'They have been married for at least a month, more than a month. The marriage is fully legal and took place in America under American law,' the insider revealed.
'When they were planning the wedding, they were clear about the fact that they were already secretly married.
'There is no application for a wedding license from the couple because it was not required.
'Whatever happens at the wedding on Friday, it will not be a wedding. Under Italian law, it will not be a wedding celebration, any vows said or rings exchanged will have no legal meaning.'
The source also claimed Jeff had personally confirmed he and Lauren are already legally married, and they had also signed a prenuptial agreement to protect his $244billion fortune.
Greenpeace and the UK-based collective Everyone Hates Elon have joined protests in Venice, attempting to disrupt, or even prevent, the planned wedding celebrations of Amazon founder Jeff this week.
'Jeff Bezos is the second-richest man in the world, yet is reported to pay a 1.1 per cent true tax rate,' the two groups said in a joint statement.
'The multi-million-dollar wedding is reportedly happening over three days, with the wedding ring alone worth as much as $5million.'
A spokesperson from Everyone Hates Elon said: 'As governments talk about hard choices and struggle to fund public services, Jeff Bezos can afford to shut down half a city for days on end just to get married.'
'If you can rent Venice for your wedding, you can pay more tax,' one gigantic banner read in St. Mark's Square.
Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro and regional governor Luca Zaia have spoken out in favor of the nuptials, which have been dubbed, 'the wedding of the century' pointing out the celebrations are expected to bring $23-34million to local businesses.
'This is a city that handles 150,000 people a day,' Zaia told Italian daily Corriere della Sera. 'George Clooney, François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek, Alexandre Arnault, Elton John and many others got married here.'
Jeff has also pledged to make sizable charity donations, including $1.16million to Corila – an academic consortium dedicated to studying Venice's lagoon ecosystem – according to Corriere della Sera and Italy's ANSA news agency.
Earlier this month, anti-Bezos banners were hung in Venice from St. Mark's Tower with 'Bezos' in blue capital letters and a red X over it as part of a 'No Space for Bezos' campaign, a play on Jeff' Blue Origin spaceflight venture.
More outrage was sparked Thursday as Jeff and Lauren's wedding guests descended upon the Madonna dell Orto for the rain-soaked pre-party.
The chaos caused by the star-studded event reportedly forced canals to shut down and tourists to cancel reservations in Venice.
According to one business owner who runs a kayak renting service in the area, the bridges were 'closed off' to make way for Lauren, Jeff, and their guests, leaving customers unable to reach them.
'We had a party of clients booked for Thursday night. But they were unable to get through to us because the bridges were all closed off,' they shared.
'Despite them having booking, the police wouldn't let them pass. It was party of five Americans, and they had booked an hour and a half for $100 each and so we had to cancel.
'The party involved was on a tight schedule and couldn't re-book so we will have to refund them and so we have lost money.'
In addition to the bridges, the Venice local claimed the canals were also shut down and police on jet skis turned them around when they tried to get through.
They added that there was 'no real notification from the council that the canal would be closed.'
'I don't begrudge [Jeff and Lauren] for getting married, but this has cost us money and of all the places in Venice they had to choose the one by us,' they added.
Photos also showed police presence all over the Italian city, including officers on jet skis in the canals, as water taxis went back and forth taking Lauren and Jeff's guests from their hotels to the event.
Around 20 activists were seen protesting hours before the pre-wedding party in St Mark's Square, the iconic heart of Venice.
Protesters held signs that read, 'We are the 99 per cent we have the power,' 'the planet burns,' while someone even waved an extinction rebellion flag.
Lauren and Jeff arrived in Venice for their wedding on Wednesday.
They were photographed outside the luxurious five-star Aman Hotel — where some suites cost nearly $14,000 a night — after being dropped off by a water taxi along with 50 of their 200-something guests.
They hosted a drinks reception with a playlist of romantic music, blasting More Than A Woman by the Bee Gees. They then continued to play tunes like Nina Simone's Feeling Good, Lovely Day by Bill Withers and Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison.
Earlier that day, in the private garden of the hotel, which is surrounded by a 10ft brick wall, staff could be heard working to erect marquees, ready for a weekend of celebrations.
They also put a VIP jetty up outside the Aman Hotel for guests to use when they arrived.
Days before their Venice arrival, Lauren and Jeff kicked off their wedding-week by throwing a rowdy foam party on board his $500million superyacht Koru on Sunday.
Pictures obtained by DailyMail.com of the lavish celebration show the loved-up couple covered in little more than soap suds as they relished in the summer sunshine.
Jeff proposed to Lauren on the same superyacht more than two years ago in 2023.
While it's unclear when exactly they started dating, Lauren and Jeff's romance was first exposed by the National Enquirer in January 2019, while they were both married to their now-exes.
Soon after it was revealed, the billionaire businessman divorced his wife of more than 25 years and the mother of his four children, MacKenzie Scott, while Lauren left her husband, Patrick.
At the time, the bombshell report from the Enquirer claimed Lauren and Jeff had been involved in an eight-month affair, which involved him 'whisking his mistress off to exotic destinations on his $65million private jet, sending her raunchy messages and erotic selfies, and having secret rendezvous at palatial private estates.'
The outlet said it had tracked them 'across five states and 40,000 miles, tailing them in private jets, swanky limos, helicopter rides, romantic hikes, five-star hotel hideaways, intimate dinner dates and "quality time" in hidden love nests.'
Following the Enquirer's accusations, Jeff fired back by writing a lengthy essay to the publication's CEO, David Pecker, in which the mogul accused the company of blackmailing him.
'Rather than capitulate to extortion and blackmail, I've decided to publish exactly what they sent me, despite the personal cost and embarrassment they threaten,' he wrote.
'[After] intimate texts messages from me were published in the National Enquirer, I engaged investigators to learn how those texts were obtained, and to determine the motives for the many unusual actions taken by the Enquirer.
'We were then approached with an offer. They said they had more of my text messages and photos that they would publish if we didn't stop our investigation.'
He shared alleged emails sent to him by Enquirer staffers, in which they described the racy images they had 'obtained during their newsgathering' in detail.
'If in my position I can't stand up to this kind of extortion, how many people can?' Jeff continued.
'Of course I don't want personal photos published, but I also won't participate in their well-known practice of blackmail, political favors, political attacks, and corruption. I prefer to stand up, roll this log over, and see what crawls out.'
As for how Jeff and Lauren met, it's believed Lauren's husband Patrick was who first introduced the two at an Amazon studios party for the movie Manchester By the Sea in 2016.
Her production team was then hired to film footage for Jeff's rocket company, Blue Origin, in 2018.
'Patrick and Lauren have socialized with Jeff Bezos and his wife for a few years, because both [former] couples have houses in Seattle,' a source told Page Six after their affair was brought to light.
'Then Lauren was hired to work on one of Jeff's projects, Blue Origin, a space-launch company. She has been shooting aerial shots for Jeff.'
Despite the start of their romance being shrouded in accusations of blackmail and extortion, cheating allegations, and an explosive affair, the couple did not let it deter them.
In fact, after splitting from their respective partners, Jeff and Lauren didn't wait long to start flaunting their love all over the globe.
They were seen for the first time together publicly in May 2019, when photographers caught them enjoying a romantic date night in New York City, and they made their first official appearance as a couple at Wimbledon that July.
Since then, the couple has not tried to hide their romance, and for the last five years, they have continuously jetted off on a slew of lavish getaways together, shared tons of PDA-filled photos on social media, gushed over one another nonstop in interviews, and attended a slew of star-studded events side by side.