Allegations of sexual harassment that have recently upended New York Governor Andrew
Cuomo’s third term have shone new light on his previous relationship with lifestyle
personality Sandra Lee. Let’s look at what we know about the pair’s 14-year union that
ended in 2019.
Sandra Lee and Andrew Cuomo met in 2005. Both were separated from their respective spouses
at the time. Andrew had been married to Kerry Kennedy, the seventh of Robert and Ethel Kennedy's
11 children. Together, the couple had three girls: twins Cara and Mariah, and Michaela.
They were married for 15 years, from 1990 through 2005.
Sandra Lee, meanwhile, was married to businessman Bruce Karatz from 2001 to 2005. He's the former
CEO of KB Home and, as a philanthropist, used his means to help New Orleans rebuild after
the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
As for Andrew and Sandra, they apparently first met at a cocktail party in the Hamptons.
Although they appeared to enjoy each other's company, each was in the midst of finalizing
their respective divorces, so their relationship moved slowly. It would be one year, in fact,
before Andrew introduced Sandra to his daughters. Shortly after that, Andrew and Sandra moved
in together, settling into life in a Westchester, New York home that she affectionately called
"Lily Pond.”
“Hello everybody, I’m Sandra Lee. Welcome to Lily Pond – please come in.”
The former star of Food Network’s Restaurant Remakes and Money-Saving Meals was in attendance
when Andrew was first sworn into office as governor of New York and held the Bible on
which he took his oath in December of 2010. As revealed in The New York Post, they spent
his first night as governor together, snuggling with a 2-month-old cockatoo whose fragile
health required the use of a heating lamp to keep warm.
Even though she didn’t have an official title, Sandra stood by Andrew's side during
two of his three terms, and the First Lady of New York threw herself into causes close
to her heart. She worked tirelessly to help millions of New Yorkers who struggled to pay
for food.
The New York Post reported her saying,
"It's not just the poor and the homeless that are suffering. It is the middle class, too."
Earlier, Sandra had written about her impoverished background, and how she came up with her semi-homemade
recipes, in her memoir Made from Scratch, published in November 2007. She explained
in the book that she cooked and cleaned for her four siblings starting at the age of 8,
after her father left and her mother became addicted to prescription pills.
As Andrew and Sandra settled into domesticity, she preferred to stay out of the spotlight,
and she happily helped to raise his three daughters as she continued to move forward
in her career.
In late March 2015, the 48-year-old had just finished a shoot for People, who named her
one of their Most Beautiful for their annual issue, when she got a phone call that changed
her life; she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The governor was by Sandra's side when she fought a battle against the disease, as documented
in the HBO Documentary Film RX: Early Detection, A Cancer Journey with Sandra Lee. This appearance
was one of the few times the couple let the world into their personal life.
Andrew said to People,
"Sandy's experience with breast cancer was one of the hardest things I have ever gone
through personally. It opened my eyes, and I learned a lot."
As confirmed by the New York State Department of Health, Sandra campaigned to help Andrew
pass legislation in June 2016 to improve access to breast cancer screening by expanding screening
hours at hospitals and clinics and removing some insurance barriers.
The couple appeared to have hit a rough patch in 2018. It was during that year that Sandra's
image was removed from Andrew's campaign website, when he was seeking to be re-elected as New
York's governor. A Democratic Party insider said at the time that Sandra's absence as
Andrew's partner on the site appeared to be, quote, "awkward." She also skipped his State
of the State address in early 2019, citing a previous commitment.
After 14 years together, the couple announced their split in September 2019. He moved out
of Lily Pond and back into the New York Governor's Mansion full time. The news was shocking to
their followers, who believed that, after enduring so many personal highs and lows together,
their bond would be permanent.
When splitting up, Andrew and Sandra released a joint statement on Twitter regarding the
end of their relationship:
"Over the recent past, we have realized that our lives have gone in different directions,
and our romantic relationship has turned into a deep friendship. […] We will always be
family and are fully supportive of each other and dedicated to the girls. Our personal lives
remain personal, and there will be no further comment,"
Sandra Lee became emotional the day she left the gorgeous home the couple had shared during
their relationship. In a December 2020 Instagram post, she wrote,
"My last moments on Lily Pond were very BitterSweet. I walked around the outside of my beautiful
home —I wanted to drink in every angle and remember the beautiful moments that were spent
in every place."
Taking in the full scenery of the location, she went on to write,
"I stopped at the top of the hill where I planted one of 6 tree lines of evergreen trees
and 200 daffodil bulbs. [...] I prayed the next owners would be kind to [the house] and
love it as I did."
Andrew and Sandra reportedly remain close, and she maintains a tight bond with his daughters
and extended family.
Though Sandra has not officially commented on the allegations of sexual assault coming
from six women in the New York governor’s inner political circle, on February 27th,
she posted a message about "healing" and shared a photo of a sunset lingering over a Malibu
beach.
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