Lauren Sanchez has revealed that she twice auditioned to be a co-host on The View and was twice rejected by the show’s bosses.
Sanchez admitted that she was “a little nervous” to sit down with the ladies of The View because of her history with the long-running show.
“My hand was shaking back there and my sister looked at me and she goes, ‘You’re not auditioning this time. You’re a guest,’” Sanchez told co-hosts Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro and newest host Alyssa Farah Griffin.
Behar explained Sanchez’s backstory to the audience, “Lauren auditioned for this show twice and the powers that be decided, ‘No, you’re not getting the job.’ But look at you now! I don’t think that you needed the job.”
The co-hosts agreed with Behar’s “look at you now” comment in reference to Sanchez, 54, dating billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 60.
Sanchez added more to the story and recounted a piece of advice the late Barbara Walters gave her during her experience.
“One time—I actually saw the clip, I couldn’t believe it—they pulled my hair back, they made me dress a little more conservative,” said Sanchez. “And after the show, Barbara Walters pulled me aside and she goes, ‘What are you doing?’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And she goes, ‘If you’re gonna go down, go down as yourself. Because if you don’t go down as yourself, you’re gonna beat yourself up twice.’”
Sanchez, a licensed pilot and award-winning journalist, stopped by the show to promote her new children’s book The Fly Who Flew to Space, which aims to introduce children to space concepts early.
On Tuesday, Sanchez, who battled with dyslexia at a young age, told Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan that the book “is for my eight-year-old self who really felt dumb.” She added, “And I did, I sat in the back of the class, I was quiet and they pushed me along in public school.”
On top of her book and her billionaire boyfriend, Sanchez announced earlier this year that she is planning to lead an all-female flight crew to space.
“I’m extremely excited,” she told People magazine. “We haven’t announced the date yet, but it will be this year. And we’ll start announcing my fellow astronauts in the coming months.”