Lauren Sánchez Bezos exposes TV career reality after critics said she didn't 'deserve to be there'

Lauren Sánchez Bezos is sharing a candid look at her early broadcasting career, revealing that while she often laughed off mistakes on camera, she was struggling with insecurities and the sting of public criticism behind the scenes.

In a recent Instagram post, the 56-year-old former TV journalist uploaded a montage of her past on-air flubs alongside a message about perseverance and living with dyslexia.

"I made a lot of mistakes on air. You can see me laugh and say oops. (A lot) But behind that smile? Fear. Embarrassment. Critics said I didn’t deserve to be there," Sánchez Bezos wrote in the caption.

"That one hurt," she admitted. "I tried not to show it and I just kept showing up every single day."

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"I still mess up words," Sánchez Bezos continued. "I still reread things three or four times. But I’m not embarrassed anymore. Took me a long time to get here. If you or your kid is struggling with dyslexia, know this: you may learn differently, but different doesn’t mean less capable."

"Oops is the sound of progress."

Sánchez Bezos has previously shared that she was not diagnosed with dyslexia until she was a 19-year-old student at El Camino College, a community college in Torrance, California.

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While being honored at the This Is About Humanity's 5th Anniversary Soirée in March, Sánchez Bezos opened up about how her diagnosis came after her journalism professor recognized that her difficulties with reading and writing might be related to a learning difference.

"Someone out there looked at me and believed in me. My journalism teacher," she said during her speech, per People magazine.

"She noticed I was struggling in school, getting in trouble, and that I didn't sign up to write for the school paper, Sánchez Bezos continued. "So she questioned my reluctance. She's like, 'Hey, why aren't you signing up for this?' And I go, 'I don't know why I'm even in school. I can't write.' And she said, 'Let's see about that.'"

Sánchez Bezos recalled that her professor assured her that she wasn't "dumb" and encouraged her to get tested for a learning disability.

The New Mexico native said that after receiving her diagnosis, the "doors that once seemed shut swung wide open" and her college GPA jumped from a 2.0 to a 3.8.

"So why am I telling you this story? Because of that one person who took an interest in me. One person, one, who treated me with kindness, respect and humanity," Sánchez Bezos said. "One person who believed in me. I learned how to believe in myself."

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Sánchez Bezos later transferred to the University of Southern California, where she studied communications and journalism. She worked as a desk assistant at the Los Angeles-based Fox affiliate KCOP-TV before becoming an anchor and reporter at the independent news station KTVK in Phoenix, Arizona.

In the late 1990s, Sánchez Bezos worked as a correspondent for the syndicated entertainment news program "Extra" and as an anchor and reporter for Fox Sports Net, where she earned an Emmy nomination.

Sánchez Bezos returned to KCOP-TV as the co-anchor of "UPN News 13" alongside Rick Garcia in 1999. During a March appearance on "Today," she shared that she concealed her dyslexia during those years and named Garcia as the only colleague in which she had confided.

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"I went through life hiding it," Sánchez Bezos said.

"Even when I was a news anchor, no one knew I was dyslexic except my co-anchor," she said. "He would help me."

She went on to describe how Garcia quietly assisted her during live broadcasts when she encountered a difficult word on the teleprompter.

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"He would see a word on the screen and I would go like this, and he would whisper in my ear," she said.

In May, Sánchez Bezos shared a video that featured a clip from Jan. 23, 2000 newscast with Garcia.

"Back when I was a news anchor... I learned that dyslexia shows up in various ways," she wrote over the video.

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Sánchez Bezos' message continued as the video cut to a compilation of other moments from her on-air career.

"Which can mean learning to read at your own pace ... learning how to ask questions and connect ... learning how to process big emotions ... not measuring yourself by other people's assumptions ... or taking a leap of faith ... even when you aren't 100% sure...," Sánchez Bezos continued.

"I've fumbled live on air. Recovered, kept going. So will you. ❤️," she concluded.

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In the caption of her post, Sánchez Bezos shared words of encouragement for children who are struggling with reading or speaking.

"I anchored the news for years. I stumbled a lot, because I have dyslexia. It never once stopped me. (I was embarrassed a lot, but it never stopped me.) To every kid who trips over their words… it doesn’t have to stop you either. Keep going," she wrote.

Sánchez Bezos has become increasingly vocal about dyslexia in recent years and advocacy around dyslexia and her advocacy has extended beyond social media. In 2024, she released the children's book "The Fly Who Flew to Space," which she has said was inspired by her own experiences growing up with dyslexia and feeling underestimated.

The book follows Flynn, a determined fly who pursues his dream of traveling to space despite doubters. In interviews promoting the book, she connected Flynn's journey to her own path from a student struggling with undiagnosed dyslexia to a television journalist, helicopter pilot and eventually a member of the all-female Blue Origin spaceflight crew. She is also the founder of Black Ops Aviation, an aerial film and production company she launched in 2016.

Sánchez Bezos dedicated "The Fly Who Flew to Space" to Lori Medigovich, the professor who helped her at El Camino College.

During her March appearance on "Today," Sánchez Bezos became emotional while discussing a speech her 19-year-old son Evan, who was diagnosed with dyslexia in elementary school, gave at her 2025 wedding to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

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Sánchez Bezos recalled that Evan said he would be talking about a "moment that was really important to him."

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"And I had no idea what he was going to say," she remembered. "And he was in the fourth grade, not writing well, and he wrote this sentence. 'I can do this.'"

"And it was his first sentence," Sánchez Bezos continued while tearing up. "And that's really late to be writing your first sentence, as any parent with a kid with dyslexia knows."

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"And I blew it up," she said. "I blew it up and put it in our kitchen, and it says, 'I can do this.'"

"That was the most meaningful and impactful moment at my wedding. Beside getting married to Jeff," Sánchez Bezos added with a smile.

In an Instagram post last week, Sánchez Bezos shared a video featuring the strategies that she uses to help her manage dyslexia and ADHD including relying on audiobooks and developing personalized systems for learning and processing information.

"A few things that help me with my dyslexia and ADHD," she wrote in the caption. "Took me years to figure out what works for my brain. (And I’m still learning new ways)."