Timing is everything in life.
Sandra Lee has gotten engaged to her boyfriend Ben Youcef, and the beaming couple hit the town in Paris to celebrate, with a besotted Lee showing off her dazzling new diamond engagement ring, multiple sources sources told The Post.
Photos of the lovebirds reveal that Lee, the former girlfriend of New York Gov. andrew-cuomo” target=”_blank”>Andrew Cuomo< following a series of scandals — and a damning report by state Attorney General Letitia James accusing him of crime several women — that have plagued his third term as governor.
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Lee and Youcef bolted to the City of Love after she was left devastated by the events of the past week, when Cuomo resigned as governor amid a sex harassment scandal, Lee’s friends said.
Andrew Cuomo’s ex, Sandra Lee and her boyfriend Ben Youcef are seen in Saint-Tropez, Aug. 7, 2021. (Best Image / BACKGRID)
The two could be seen outside Parisian hotspot L’Avenue on Saturday night, sharing an embrace before heading in for dinner.
Lee, a 55-year-old lifestyle guru wore a white summer dress while Youcef, 46, had on jeans, a leather jacket and a white T-shirt emblazoned with the logo “Fear of God.”
A source close to Youcef told The Post: “Ben really wanted to distract Sandra from all the news, so he whisked her away to Paris. He knows how hard this has been on her and he wants to make sure she feels loved and supported.”
The source added: “Ben is incredibly protective of Sandra. They’re soulmates and head over heels in love.”
The pair traveled to Paris after spending time in St. Tropez in the South of France.
Lee and Cuomo never got engaged during their 14 years together, although she was married previously to former KB Home CEO Bruce Karatz from 2001 until 2005.
Andrew Cuomo is seen with Sandra Lee at the White House for a state dinner Oct. 18, 2016. (Getty Images)
The source said their friends have been rooting for them since they met in the spring in Los Angeles.
As The Post reported, Lee has felt “betrayed” by Cuomo, most recently for what she claims was him taking credit for legalizing same sex marriage in New York during his resignation speech when she was the one who urged him it push the legislation forward.
Cuomo’s cheating during their relationship, which he denied, was considered an “open secret,” former Cuomo staffers told The Post in April.
She met Youcef after moving to Malibu, Calif., and leaving behind the home she shared with Cuomo.
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She solidified her move to the West Coast after selling her Mount Kisco home – named “Lily Pond” — for $1.85 million last October.
Youcef, a divorced dad-of-two, was discovered by Steven Spielberg and went on to appear in his 2005 movie “Munich.”
He has since appeared in a number of TV shows.
A rep for Lee declined to comment.
