Sandra Lee romance still feels brand new three years into her relationship with her fiancé.
“It’s just completely different. It’s almost like. It’s almost like having a first love again for me. And I think for him, I am his first love,” the “Blue Ribbon Baking Championship” host told Fox News Digital.
She continued, “So it just it’s a completely different relationship than I think either one of us have had before. And, you know, all the things that you go through with a first love is exactly the kind of stuff we go through. And some of it’s silly, and some of it’s not. And, you know, it’s very present, every day. It’s very like there’s no time off. We are in it to win that.”
Lee is dating Ben Youcef, 44, an actor-producer.
Sandra Lee said her relationship with Ben Youcef is “completely different’ and feels “almost like having a first love again.” (Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Elton John AIDS Foundation)
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She recently celebrated her 58th birthday on Instagram, sharing a series of photos of her and Ben kissing, writing in the caption, “Best birthday gift ever was Ben! Thank you for chasing me up the street and not taking NO NO NO for an answer! You were right!”
“Thank you God for such wonderful man to get to kiss,” she added, also writing, “so grateful for my love!!”
Lee’s romance with Youcef comes after a difficult decade marked by health and relationship issues.
“Talk about turning your life upside down. It was being a pancake on a griddle and just getting flipped. And I had just gotten to, like, the most perfect place. And all of a sudden, everything went south,” she said of the past decade.
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“That’s the beautiful thing about life, is you really it shows you [that] you really have to enjoy the good times. And because the bad will come no matter who you are. And I thought I had already taken my lumps, but, you know, life was going to show me that there were still some more hiccups to go. And so I had [take] them over the last couple of years.”
In 2015, Lee was diagnosed with breast cancer, specifically ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and underwent a double mastectomy and later a complete hysterectomy.
“It’s almost like having a first love again for me. And I think for him, I am his first love.”
Four years later, in 2019, she and her longtime boyfriend, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, went through a very public break-up.
And during the break-up, she found out that her uncle, who she considered a father figure, had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and moved to California to care for him until his death in 2023.
Lee and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo broke up in 2019 after 14 years together. (Getty Images)
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“When I had a breakup, I moved to California to be by my uncle, and that just turned out to be the very best thing for me. And I got to spend time with him I would have never gotten to spend. And we went on so many trips together and checked off so many items on his bucket list, and that’s what I wanted to do, and that’s what I did,” she recalled.
Handling the whirlwind of emotions helped Lee learn a lot about herself.
“I just let it be. I just let it breathe. I just really sat back and kind of watched what was going on and really leaned into who I wanted to be and who I thought I was,” Lee said.
She admitted, “Some of the decisions I made were very petty, and they were very difficult decisions to make, and they were heartbreaking decisions and other decisions I had no control over, other than how I was going to handle them.”
“I just really sat back and kind of watched what was going on and really leaned into who I wanted to be and who I thought I was,” Lee said of overcoming the past decade of difficulties. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for GLAAD)
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“One day at a time is exactly what I did. Literally one day at a time. I took my time with it,” Lee said of managing her life, revealing that much of her New York home that she packed up when she left for California is still in storage “because I haven’t been able to deal with it until just this year.”
“I let myself go through every, every piece and part of it. And it’s still not easy. Nothing’s easy. You know, 14 years of a life is . . . to walk away from, it’s not an easy thing.”
What has been easier is her relationship with Youcef, who she jokes “cannot cook his way out of a box.”
“I mean, he just likes to eat, and I like to cook, and so that works out just fine,” Lee said, adding that his favorite meal is lamb chops with mashed potatoes, and maybe some brownies for dessert.
Lee said Youcef, “just likes to eat, and I like to cook, and so that works out just fine.” (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter)
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“Every relationship is unique. Every relationship has special things in it, and every relationship has challenging things in it. It’s just a matter of ‘Can you deal with the challenges that are created with a particular person that you are with?’ And sometimes it’s yes, and sometimes it’s life’s too short.”
Lee said there are no wedding plans yet for her and Youcef, instead focusing on her new series “The Blue Ribbon Baking Championship,” on Netflix.
Lee created and co-hosts “The Blue Ribbon Baking Championship,” on Netflix. (Courtesy of Netflix. © 2024)
She not only co-hosts with “American Pie” star Jason Biggs, but also judges with former White House pastry chef, Bill Yosses, and award-winning artisan baker, Bryan Ford.
The “Semi-Homemade” star loved watching contestants not only compete, but come together, even with prizes like $100,000 and a Best in Fair blue ribbon on the line.
“Nothing’s easy. You know, 14 years of a life is . . . to walk away from, it’s not an easy thing.”
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“I love the fact that they help one another when one is in trouble and struggling. They would leave their stations and help their fellow competitors, not to the detriment of themselves, but enough to get them over a hump. And they were truly happy for one another,” she said.
For Lee, the show also highlights some true Americana with its state and county fair aesthetic.
“For me, when you’re looking at who we are as America, it’s the people who go to the state fairs. They are a favorite amongst kids,” she said.
She continued, recalling her own fond memories of attending fairs as a kid.
Lee said she likes the camaraderie of the contestants, saying, “They would leave their stations and help their fellow competitors, not to the detriment of themselves, but enough to get them over a hump.” (Courtesy of Netflix. © 2024)
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“I remember what I ate, I remember I had my first kiss on the tram going across the fairgrounds with a boy named Ben when I was 13. Like the state fairs are a thing. You eat, you have fun, you go on rides, you play with your friends, you hang out, you know, it’s good, clean fun.”
“The Blue Ribbon Baking Championship” has also been a labor of love for Lee. She created the show 12 years ago, and found that even after all that time, there were still last-minute changes to be made.
Lee said working on “The Blue Ribbon Baking Championship” brought back all her fond memories of going to state and county fairs as a kid. (Courtesy of Netflix. © 2024)
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“It’s a living thing. I mean, right in the middle of the first, the first day of taping, we decided we were going to shoot it like every other food competition where you stop down, people go home and everybody’s rested, and everybody’s fine. And we looked at, we went, that’s not real life. That’s not what happens in the world. This is $100,000 is, you know, someone has to be the best baker with all the stress and all the pressure and all the challenges. And so we ran that show in real time. And those bakers are baking in real time. If it’s a day, it’s a real day. And that’s a lot of work, and that’s a lot of stress, and that’s a lot of energy, and that’s a lot of focus. But it’s also a lot of joy, and it makes amazing television.”
“The Blue Ribbon Baking Championship” is streaming now on Netflix.
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