Sandra Lee dealt with major personal struggles after her split from Andrew Cuomo.
The chef, 58, told Us Weekly in an interview published Tuesday that she was “terrified” when she started dating her now-fiance Ben Youcef in 2021, two years after splitting from the former New York governor, 66.
“I hadn’t been intimate in years and years,” said Lee. “I literally felt like a virgin at 55, and I just didn’t want to get involved again.”
Lee revealed that she didn’t kiss Youcef, 46, until they had been dating for two months.
“He finally kissed me and I stood there stone-still. He kept his lips on mine, and my mind just went blank. I still didn’t kiss him back,” she said.
“He waited and persisted, and here we are,” Lee continued. “My chemistry with Ben is something that I’ve never had before. It’s mental, it’s emotional, and it’s a connection that I can’t even describe.”
“Ben is very patient, and he’s very transparent. He checks in all the time, and shares everything with me,” she continued. “He loves helping people without agenda or motive. He truly tries to be a better human every day.” The pair got engaged in 2021.
Lee dealt with health issues during her relationships with both Cuomo and Youcef.
In 2022, she underwent a complete hysterectomy nearly seven years after her breast cancer diagnosis and double mastectomy.
She told Us that Cuomo, who she started dating in 2005, missed her birthday in 2015 after her double mastectomy.
“I spent the day by myself,” Lee recalled. “I was sitting on my lawn alone … I’m not someone who feels sorry for themselves, but that day was a bit much for me.”
Lee also claimed that Cuomo uttered a mystery comment in their Westchester County house in spring 2019 that led to their split.
“I was in my kitchen and he said something, and the minute he said it, I knew what he’d just said,” she explained. “And every window and door closed. And that was it … He knows what it is; I know what it is.”
A spokesperson for Cuomo, who resigned from office in 2021 as allegations of sexual harassment against him grew, said in a statement to Us: “There are always two sides of the story.” He reportedly said he cleared his schedule on Lee’s birthday in 2015 and claims he did not see Lee around the time the mysterious remark was made in 2019.
“Governor Cuomo has always been totally supportive of Sandra through good times and bad. She partnered with him, spent time with [his] girls, and handled functions as first lady very well. Sandra and the Governor had separate and busy lives and grew apart over time,” the Cuomo spokesperson said.
“Breakups are always difficult and there are always two sides of the story, but the Governor chooses to focus on the positive and wishes her nothing but success and happiness in the years ahead,” the statement added.
Lee said that the last 10 years — during which she’s dealt with health problems, a divorce, and the death of her uncle to a terminal illness — have been the “most challenging decade of my life.”
“I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I will never get over the heartbreak loss of the last ten years sad. The grief has been endless but I will use it to fuel and feed me and make me wiser and stronger.”
She also said, “You’re either at the beginning, the middle or the end of hurt and pain. It’s life. It’s a cycle. And then you get these amazing runs of happiness that make it all worth it. My life was a nightmare that slowly turned into a dream.”
