Sandra Lee and Ben Youcef have officially ended their engagement, calling off their wedding plans after five years together. The Food Network star's representative confirmed the split to TMZ on April 22, marking the conclusion of a relationship that began in 2021.
Lee, 59, and Youcef, 47, had maintained a notably private relationship in recent years. Their last public appearance together was in 2024 at Elton John's AIDS Foundation Oscars viewing party, where photographs captured them enjoying champagne and taking playful selfies.
Speculation about trouble in paradise emerged a week before the official announcement when Lee was spotted in New York without her engagement ring. At the time, the Semi-Homemade Cooking host dismissed concerns, telling TMZ her outfit simply "didn't call for jewelry."
Despite the recent split, Lee shared a heartfelt Valentine's Day tribute to Youcef in 2025, posting a video compilation of sweet moments on Instagram with the caption: "To my Special Valentines, Ben, thank you for nearly 4 years of love. We have had so much fun, so much romance, so many special moments."
This relationship followed Lee's high-profile 15-year romance with former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, during which she was often referred to as the "semi" First Lady of New York. In a 2011 Vogue interview, Lee spoke about reorganizing her business to devote more time to Cuomo's political career, saying, "In 2010 I made a very conscious effort to get ahead of my work; I cleared the decks and reorganized the company so that I would have more time to devote to Andrew."
Cuomo resigned from office in 2021 following sexual harassment allegations, with his relationship with Lee having ended two years prior in 2019.