Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made cryptic comments to his then-girlfriend Sandra Lee that ultimately put an end to the power couple’s already-disintegrating relationship, the famous TV chef revealed in a new interview.
Lee, who was with the scandal-scarred politician for more than a decade, told Us Weekly that their festering bond came to an end in the spring of 2019 at the Westchester County home where the pair shared.
“I was in the kitchen and he said something, and the moment he said it I knew what he said,” she recalled to the glossy magazine, “and then all the windows and doors closed, and that was it. He knows what it is, and I know what it is.”
Lee, 58, declined to say what Cuomo said but outlined other issues the two have faced.
She said Cuomo, 66, became increasingly distant during their relationship and barely attended her birthday in 2015, the year she underwent a double mastectomy while battling breast cancer.
“I spent the day alone,” she told US Weekly magazine. “I was sitting on the grass by myself… I’m not one to feel sorry for myself, but that day was a bit hard for me.”
When he came home later and they went out to dinner, she was already hurt, she said.
Page Six reported in May 2019 that the couple were no longer living together amid rumors they had split, but reps for both Lee and Cuomo denied they had split at the time.
Then, in September 2019, the couple finally confirmed that their relationship was over.
She told US Weekly magazine that the past decade has been “the most difficult decade of my life.”
“I’ve resigned myself to never recovering from the heartbreaking losses of the past decade,” said Lee, whose uncle died of a terminal illness in December 2023. “The grief will never end, but I use it to nourish myself and come out wiser and stronger.”
The “Semi Homemade Cooking” star met Algerian actor Ben Youssef after her high-profile split with Cuomo and they became engaged in 2021.
When she first started dating Yousef, she said she felt like a “virgin.”
“I hadn’t had an intimate relationship for years. I literally felt like a virgin at 55 and never wanted to get involved again,” she said in an interview with Us Weekly magazine.
Asked about the differences between Yousef and Cuomo, Lee said her 45-year-old fiancé has been “very patient” and “very transparent.”
“He’s always in touch and will tell me anything. He loves to help people without any agenda or motive,” she said, seemingly criticizing Cuomo.
“He’s really trying to be a better person every day,” she said of her new beau.
A spokesperson for Governor Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations, said in a statement to Us Weekly that “there are always two sides to a story.” The report claims that he had cleared his plans for Governor Lee’s birthday in 2015 and had not met the governor around the time of the cryptic comments in 2019.
“Governor Cuomo has always had Sandra’s full support through good times and bad. She has partnered with him, spent time with their daughters and handled her role as First Lady extremely well. Sandra and the Governor each have busy lives and over time they became estranged,” a Cuomo spokesperson said.
“While breakups are always difficult and there are always two sides to them, the Governor has chosen to focus on the positive and wishes her nothing but success and happiness in the future.”
