Lauren Sánchez Bezos Celebrates Daughter Ella’s College Milestone

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Lauren Sánchez Bezos is priming herself for a new chapter.

The former host of Good Day L.A. shared a heartfelt message after announcing that her 17-year-old daughter, Ella, had been accepted to college.

Lauren shared a heartfelt message alongside a photo of her daughter, posting to Instagram on December 11th. She wrote that seeing the picture brought tears to her eyes, knowing her daughter will soon be going to college. Lauren—who shares Ella and 18-year-old son Evan with her ex-husband, Patrick Whitesell—also expressed how incredibly proud she is of her daughter’s hard work.

She shared a heartfelt message saying, “I love you so much,” and included Taylor Swift’s song “Never Grow Up.” She also congratulated them on being accepted into their dream college.

Lauren recently shared news about Ella, not long after she helped Evan move into college and thought about how significant that moment was for him.

Lauren shared on Instagram that seeing her son build a dorm cabinet as he moved in marked the beginning of a new phase in his life. She reflected on all the years of shared family moments – early mornings, late-night snacks, and dinners – leading up to this independent step.

She added at the time, “Proud, heartbroken, grateful.”

This year has been eventful for the 55-year-old. She married Jeff Bezos in Venice this June. Though the wedding was recent, they’ve been combining their families for several years. Bezos has four children with his former wife, MacKenzie Scott.

Lauren told the Washington Post in 2023 that a typical Saturday for her family involves spending time together and having dinner with their kids. She described the dinners as lively and unpredictable, joking, “We are the Brady Bunch!”

The journalist also mentioned she’s developed a close relationship with her ex, Tony Gonzalez – who is the father of her 24-year-old son, Nikko – and his wife, October, known as Tobie.

Keep reading for more on Lauren and Jeff’s blended family…

I’m closest to my son’s father, Tony, and his wife – they’re my best friends, actually.

Lauren continued, saying she was incredibly proud that her son felt so fortunate. He told her, ‘I’m the luckiest boy in the world to be able to celebrate Thanksgiving with both of my parents, even though they’re not together.’

Keep reading for more on Lauren and Jeff’s blended family…

Lauren Sánchez Bezos welcomed son Nikko Gonzalez with then-boyfriend Tony Gonzalez on Feb. 12, 2001.

Tony played for the Kansas City Chiefs for twelve seasons before finishing his career with the Atlanta Falcons and retiring in 2013.

He’s now a football analyst, and although he and Lauren separated when their son, Nikko, was young, they successfully worked together as friendly co-parents.

Lauren shared with the Wall Street Journal in 2023 that it had taken around five years to reach that point, and they were all together for Thanksgiving. She explained that while being friends with an ex isn’t essential, being able to talk to each other is important.

Tony and his wife, October “Tobie” Gonzalez, have three children together: two daughters and a son. In February 2025, when Tony turned 49, his daughter Lauren shared a heartfelt birthday message on Instagram, calling him “one of the best dads ever!”

Nikko currently lives in New York City, where he works on AI-powered research and identifies as a startup founder on Instagram. He’s also recently started modeling, and made his first appearance on the runway at Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall/Winter 2024-2025 menswear show.

In a 2023 interview with Vogue, Nikko described his blended family as surprisingly harmonious. He said, “Everyone just gets along really well—it’s almost uneventful!”

Lauren Conrad married Patrick Whitesell, an executive at Endeavor, in August 2005. The wedding, held in Santa Barbara, California, was attended by several of Whitesell’s famous clients, including Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Hugh Jackman.

Lauren and Patrick welcomed their son, Evan Whitesell, on June 22, 2006. While Lauren worked as a cohost on Good Day LA from 2011 to 2017, they generally kept their family life private, only occasionally taking their children to public events.

But Lauren did share in August 2024 that Evan was following in her footsteps as a helicopter pilot.

She shared on Instagram that watching your child gain independence for the first time brings a unique feeling of trust. It’s a mix of letting go and recognizing their readiness, a combination that’s both scary and incredibly fulfilling.

In August 2025, a mother described as both proud and heartbroken—but also grateful—shared on Instagram that she had just dropped her son, Evan, off at the University of Miami to begin his first year of college.

Eleanor Whitesell, known as Ella, was born on January 15, 2008. Like her brother, she had a private and sheltered upbringing in Los Angeles.

Lauren used to enjoy driving her teenage daughter, Ella, to school each morning, even though it wasn’t always smooth sailing. As she shared with Vogue in 2023, they’d sometimes argue, but other times Ella would confide in her, and even in the quiet moments, Lauren cherished just being present with her.

Lauren, who is marrying Jeff Bezos in June 2025, expressed her excitement about her maid of honor, Ella, wearing a unique custom suit by Dolce & Gabbana. She told Vogue that Ella has a wonderfully original style and isn’t afraid to be herself.

Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, have four children together. Only their oldest child, Preston Bezos (born in 2000), is publicly known. They’ve kept the details of their other children private, although Jeff has mentioned they adopted a daughter from China. The family of six was seen together publicly at the premiere of Star Trek Beyond in July 2016.

In 2018, speaking to the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., Jeff explained that he values his morning routine. He enjoys reading the newspaper, having coffee, and sharing breakfast with his children before they leave for school, calling this time ‘very important’ to him.

In January 2019, Jeff and MacKenzie announced they were separating after 25 years of marriage. It quickly became known that Jeff had already begun a relationship with Lauren, who had privately separated from her husband, Patrick, a few months earlier. Lauren and Patrick both filed for divorce at the same time, and it was finalized in October 2019.

Lauren says that after she and Jeff moved in together, he started telling their daughter, Ella, every morning before school, “Don’t learn anything I wouldn’t!”

The Emmy Award-winning journalist shared with Vogue in 2023 that their family life is quite ordinary, primarily focused on their children.

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2025-12-12 18:18