Sandra Lee Fulfills Her Dream of Buying a Malibu Home Following Split
Sandra Lee is having fun in the sun.
The celebrity chef moved to Los Angeles recently and soon plans to move into the oceanfront Malibu home she purchased in November, PEOPLE confirms. The milestone, which comes after Lee split from her boyfriend of 14 years, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in late 2019, has long been a dream of hers.
“When I was younger I was a waitress at the Malibu Adobe. My sister Kimber and I picked out houses on the Pacific Coast Highway and I promised myself that if I ever made it I would go back and buy myself a house on the water,” Lee, 53, tells PEOPLE. “What I believe more than anything is living just an OK life is not OK — we should all live our best lives together. Malibu is just that for me!”
The single-story, $3.38 million home is a minimalistic treasure with its all-white kitchen, beamed ceilings and exposed brick. Sitting right atop the water, it offers breathtaking, crystal clear ocean views.
Lee spoke to PEOPLE in December about how the split from Cuomo affected her, and revealed that she was not ready to find love again just yet. “I had my couple of months being really, really sad,” she said at the time, “and I have to say that my heart is a little too broken to be open yet.”
To help with the healing process, Lee moved back to the West Coast where she grew up. “I feel the most myself there, as I was born in Santa Monica — and I think we always feel best where we are from,” she told The New York Post. Lee has been enjoying spending time with family and creating meaningful memories with them.
In December she surprised her uncle Bill, 82, and aunt Peggy, 78, with a vow-renewal ceremony at the Catholic church in Santa Monica, California where they were originally married. “It was an exact remake of their wedding from 60 years ago,” said Lee, who also coordinated re-creations of photos from their original wedding album.
“It was a joy and a pleasure to see their joy and pleasure,” she added.
