Lauren Sanchez Bezos Reveals Her Last-Minute Weight Loss Method for Met Gala 2026: ‘It Was Bananas'
Lauren Sánchez Bezos went to extreme lengths to achieve her snatched look on the 2026 Met Gala red carpet.
As the annual fundraiser's honorary chair and lead sponsor alongside husband Jeff Bezos, Lauren, 56, shared details with Vogue about how she spent the weekend before the Monday, May 4, event at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
"I went to visit the New York Fire Department and did their training," she told the outlet. "It's probably the most unique Met prep ever."
According to Vogue, Lauren was put through the wringer as she sported fire department gear, crawled through a smoke-filled obstacle course and practiced how to save a life.
"It was bananas, but I loved it," she said. "I probably lost about two pounds doing it."
On fashion's biggest night, Lauren showed off the results of her weekend workout, flaunting her hourglass figure in a navy Schiaparelli dress with a plunging neckline, pearl and crystal straps and a corset. In keeping with the "Costume Art" theme of the evening, the design was inspired by John Singer Sargent's 1883 Madame X portrait, which depicts French socialite Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau in a black gown, with one of its straps slipping off her shoulder. At the time, the detail was so controversial that Sargent repainted the strap on her shoulder.
With the portrait now hanging in The Met, Lauren reflected on "how a small detail, like the fallen jeweled strap, once sparked such a strong public reaction."
"When you stand in front of it now, you see a beautiful woman," she told Vogue. "For me, the image represents how fashion and cultural standards can shift over time. Today, a strap is a strap, but back when Madame X was painted by Sargent, a strap was a scandal."
Lauren faced similar backlash when she and Jeff, 62, were announced as the lead sponsors and honorary chairs of this year's Met Gala, with some critics accusing them of trying to buy influence among the fashion industry's elite. Although the couple-who tied the knot in June 2025-have not directly addressed the controversy, she emphasized her appreciation of the annual event while speaking to Vogue.
"I would always linger in the Costume Institute galleries [when I visited The Met] because I really do believe that fashion is art," she said. "The Met is one of the few places that really treats it that way. So it feels so special that this year I get to help in some small way."
On the red carpet, Lauren notably posed solo as Jeff opted to stay behind the scenes despite their joint roles as chairs and sponsors. The two previously made their Met Gala carpet debut as a couple in 2024.
In the months leading up to the Met Gala, Anna Wintour reacted to the backlash surrounding Jeff and Lauren's sponsorship of the 2026 event, telling CNN in November 2025 that Lauren is a "great lover of costume and obviously of fashion."
"We're very grateful for her incredible generosity," Wintour, 76, added, "so we're thrilled she's part of the night."
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This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 6:18 PM.