Photo: Amy Sussman/Getty
Sandra Leeand Ben Youcef are getting the hang of being out and about together!
While attending theElton JohnAIDS Foundation’s 30th Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party this weekend, theSemi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Leestar, 55, appeared with boyfriend Youcef, 43.
“We haven’t got our kissing down yet,” Lee told PEOPLE of being seen around town with her new beau. “We’re normally really good at it.”
Though practicing their kissing has become the couple’s new mission, Lee expressed how smooth the rest of the relationship has been. “Everything’s good. We’re happy,” she said, “and we’re gonna have a great night.”
Amy Sussman/Getty
“I was sick about four weeks ago, pretty sick in fact,” Lee said, “and I just wanted something that was kind of like ‘F— cancer!'”
“Between breast cancer and ovarian, I just wanted a dress the kind of said, ‘Hey girls, this is what’s possible. Go get your stuff done. Take care of your business and and get your butt out there and buy yourself a pretty dress,” the celebrity chef added.
Lee, who’s always been candid about her health issues, said she’ll always be open in order to inspire others going through tough times. “I hope it helps when I share my story.”
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PEOPLE first confirmed that Lee and Youcef were dating back in August of 2021. The two first met as friends at a Santa Monica restaurant months prior and have been “inseparable” since getting together, a source said in November.
“It’s almost like a first love for both of them,” the insider explained at the time, adding that friends of the couple are affectionately calling them “Bendra.”
Lee made their relationship Instagram official on Valentine’s Day with a gallery of romantic and intimate pictures of herself and Youcef.
Alongside the sweet snaps was an emotional caption in which Lee admitted she never anticipated she would find love again after the end of her 14-year relationship with former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“So this happened! Ben happened! Love happened! Happiness happened!” Lee wrote. “I was certain it never would again. I was shocked when it did. I swore I would never fall again, trust again, love again or open myself up again.”
Topher Gauk-Roger
source: people.com
