Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos’ girlfriend, shared that she was rejected from becoming a flight attendant because of her weight. (Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Journalist and helicopter pilot Lauren Sánchez was once rejected by Southwest Airlines as a flight attendant because she was overweight.
In a new interview with WSJ Magazine, Sánchez, 53, shared that she didn’t make the cut for Southwest’s 1989 weight restrictions.
After leaving home at the age of 18, Sánchez, who is currently in a relationship with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, moved to Los Angeles in hopes of becoming a flight attendant. However, Southwest Airlines told her that she weighed too much to work for them.
“They weighed you back then, and I weighed 121 pounds,” Sánchez told the WSJ. “They said, ‘You must be 115.'”
While the Sánchez incident happened way back in 1989, Southwest’s rules have changed since then. On its current career page for prospective flight attendants, the airline requires certain specifics, including a minimum age of 20 and a “groomed appearance”.
“The weight must be in such a proportion to the height that a neat appearance is maintained and the physical ability to perform all professional functions is not impaired,” the website states. Attendants must also be able to “lift 50 pounds to shoulder height, among other physical qualifications.”
Looking back, Sánchez says she knows what she would say to the airline these days if it were canceled: “I don’t want to be a stewardess. I want to be the pilot!”
While Sánchez aspired to a role as a flight attendant, it’s not uncommon for women job seekers in Hollywood and beyond to be criticized for their weight. Jennifer Lawrence was previously asked to lose 10 pounds for her role as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. However, she refused to do so.
“These books were huge and I knew the audience was made up of children. I remember the biggest conversation was, ‘How much weight are you going to lose?'” she told Viola Davis during the variety series Actors on Actors. “Being young and adolescent and not able to diet, I don’t know if I want all the girls who dress up as Katniss to feel like they can’t because they’re not a certain weight. And I can’t let that seep into my brain either.”
The story goes on
Amanda Seyfried has too pronounced On the subject, she tweeted in 2014 that she “almost lost several roles in my career because I was overweight. Wrong, America.”
After her rejection from Southwest Airlines, Sánchez embarked on a long career as a journalist while also becoming a veteran helicopter pilot who still tries to fly at least three times a week. She also spends a lot of time with Bezos, who officially split from his 25-year-old wife Mackenzie in 2019. In January of this year, it was revealed that he was in a relationship with Sánchez, who at the time was married to Patrick Whitesell, CEO of entertainment agency William Morris Endeavor.
The couple, who have seven children together, are currently learning to get along with a blended family. Sánchez has nothing but crushes on her husband, whom she calls “goofy” and says he “makes me laugh all the time.”
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