Jeff Bezos' Fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, Sparks Discussion About Her Looks After Returning from Blue Origin Space Mission

The trip to space was meant to change how its crew see Earth, inspire them to share their stories, and create a lasting impact that will inspire future generations.

Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez went to space on April 14 as part of Blue Origin's latest mission. In an interview after the trip, Sánchez spoke about the powerful experience, but instead of focusing on her words, many online couldn't stop talking about how her face looked.

Blue Origin celebrated another milestone after completing its 11th human space flight for the New Shepard program. The flight, which lasted around 11 minutes, carried six women more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth, past the internationally recognized boundary of space.

It offered the women a few breathtaking moments of weightlessness before a parachute-assisted landing back in Texas. According to Phil Joyce, Senior Vice President, New Shepard, the crew, Bowe, Nguyễn, King, Perry, Flynn, and Sánchez, were chosen for their roles as storytellers, each with a powerful voice.

They were selected with the hope that they would turn their life-changing journey into something meaningful, using their platforms to inspire people around the world for generations to come.

After the capsule touched down, cheers could be heard from inside as the recovery crew approached. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin, opened the capsule door, and Sánchez, the first to emerge, was visibly emotional.

"I'm so proud of this crew," Sánchez said tearfully, sharing how King, who had initially been afraid, found the experience deeply transformative. Sánchez herself was full of excitement, recalling how they looked out the window and saw the moon.

"Earth looked so quiet," she noted, as it wasn't what she had expected. "It was quiet, but really alive," Sánchez added. From that vantage point, she realized how connected we all are, even though we're often divided by borders on Earth.

Sánchez described feeling "complete and utter joy and gratefulness" that made her want to come back and hug everyone. She was overwhelmed with emotion as she hadn't anticipated reacting so deeply to the moment. She even joked that she had to return since she and Bezos were getting married, and it would be a bummer if she didn't.

Sánchez divulged that everyone in the capsule felt the same joy and camaraderie. Before wrapping up, she thanked the Blue Team for making the journey possible and expressed hope that more people could one day experience it too.

Clips from Sánchez's interview quickly began circulating online, but rather than celebrating her message or the mission, many viewers zeroed in on her appearance.

One viewer couldn't help but ask, "What happened to her mouth." Another person echoed the sentiment with a blunt observation, "What happened to her face." Shock seemed to ripple through parts of the internet, "My god her face 😳."

Another person noticed something unsettling, "It looked like her face shifted." Some commenters went as far as to offer harsh criticism, "She basically destroyed her face 😳."

One viewer took a more speculative tone, saying, "She's clearly having some kind of allergic reaction to the capsule. Look how swollen her lips are. Someone get this lady a Benadryl."

Concerns about her expressions also surfaced, "Her face doesn't move." And of course, a theory made its expected appearance in a comment, "Lots of Botox."

The internet buzz doesn't seem to concern Sánchez, whose focus is on a much bigger mission, amplifying women's representation in space and inspiring the next generation of explorers.

Before the space flight, Sánchez, who played a key role in organizing the mission, shared her motivation for assembling the all-women crew. She said she carefully selected each participant for their ability to inspire others.

“All of these women are storytellers in their own right. They're going to go up to space and be able to spread what they felt in different ways," she expounded.

As a journalist and author, Sánchez also expressed hope that the mission would help redefine what explorers look like for future generations. With women making up only about 11 percent of those who've ever traveled to space, and rarely without male counterparts, she emphasized the importance of representation in space exploration.

Sánchez also pushed back against criticism questioning the necessity of the mission. "We can all speak to the response we're getting from young women from young girls about what this represents," she declared.

The journalist, who really gets fired up about such comments, then emphasized the dedication of the thousands of Blue Origin employees who pour their energy and passion into the work. "They love their work and they love the mission and it's a big deal for them," she gushed.

Furthermore, instead of dismissing the criticism, Sánchez encouraged skeptics to see the work firsthand, believing that experiencing it up close would offer a more eye-opening perspective on the mission's purpose and impact.