Lauren Sánchez Bezos has disclosed that she concealed her dyslexia for most of her life, including during her career as a news reporter. The 56-year-old former Emmy-winning journalist appeared on the Today show on Tuesday, where she shared that she was not diagnosed with the learning disability until the age of 19.
Speaking about her diagnosis, Sánchez Bezos said: 'My community college teacher ... got me tested. She literally looked at me, because I was like, ‘I can’t write,’ and she goes, ‘You’re not dumb, you just can’t spell. You were learning differently.’' She added that she hid her condition even while working as a news anchor, with only her co-anchor Rick Garcia aware of it. 'He would see a word on the screen, and I’m going like this, and he was, like, whispering in my ear,' she explained.
Dyslexia, a language-based learning disability, affects an estimated 15 to 20 per cent of the global population, according to the International Dyslexia Association. The condition primarily impacts word recognition, reading fluency, spelling, and writing.
Sánchez Bezos has just released her second children’s book, The Fly Who Flew Under the Sea, which she dedicated to her college professor, Lori. She hopes the book encourages parents to read to their children, noting that just ten minutes of reading releases oxytocin, fostering bonding on a biological level. The book is also aimed at children with learning differences, including dyslexia. Her debut children’s book, The Fly Who Flew to Space, was published in 2024.
In an Instagram post last week, Sánchez Bezos wrote: 'Some kids just see the world differently. I was one of them. This book is for all of the kids who hide in the back of the class, afraid to be called on, worried they’re not smart enough.' The new book follows Flynn the fly on an underwater adventure after a wrong turn. This is her first major project since her wedding to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in Venice last August.
