MacKenzie Scott's Post-Divorce Transformation After Split From Jeff Bezos

MacKenzie Scott, an author and philanthropist, is one of the earliest members of the "I divorced my billionaire husband and I'm thriving" club. Unlike other more popular members like Melinda French Gates and even the late Ivana Trump, Scott's approach to the media is different. Most notably, she's inactive on social media and doesn't seem to have caught the entertainment bug. Still, since she's also a billionaire, it's almost impossible to stay fully out of the spotlight, no matter how much she tries.

Before Scott met Jeff Bezos, she was an English major at Princeton and graduated in 1992. That same year, she interviewed for a job at D.E. Shaw and met Bezos, her interviewer. According to Scott, it was love at first sight — well, almost. Although Bezos was only an employee at the time, she fell in love with his laugh and made the first move to ask him out. Three months later, they were engaged, and after another three months, they officially tied the knot in September 1993. At this point, Bezos was 29, and Scott was 23. The pair would eventually quit their jobs and move to Seattle to start Amazon together.

Of course, this meet-cute didn't end happily ever after. In January 2019, Jeff Bezos announced on X that they would be splitting, and days later, the National Enquirer published evidence that showed that the Amazon founder had been having an affair with Lauren Sánchez for months. Although he claimed he and Scott had already been separated at the time, it certainly was not a good look, and many regard this as a red flag in Bezos and Sánchez's relationship. But enough about the ex. Everyone knows Bezos eventually married Sánchez and has transformed into a more social and publicly romantic version of himself. Yet Scott hasn't exactly been sitting on her palms either.

In March 2021, The Washington Post reported that the former Mrs. Bezos had officially moved on. MacKenzie Scott secretly married Dan Jewett, a teacher who worked at her kids' private high school. Beyond how impressive it was that they'd managed to keep the ceremony under wraps, no one could actually confirm when they'd tied the knot.

Although almost nothing about their romance is public, we do know that Jewett seemed enthralled with Scott's philanthropic ideals. He not only supported them but also cosigned her pledge to give away most of her wealth. "I have been a teacher for the majority of my life, as well as a grateful student of the generosity of those around me," his pledge stated. "And now, in a stroke of happy coincidence, I am married to one of the most generous and kind people I know — and joining her in a commitment to pass on an enormous financial wealth to serve others," he added. Scott even updated her Amazon author bio to name-drop Jewett as her husband.

Unfortunately, their romance was pretty short-lived. In September 2022, Scott filed for divorce with no contest from Jewett. They even chose to sort the details out privately and amicably. Reports show that he didn't receive spousal support, but we have no idea if he received any other form of compensation. And just as easily as he was pencilled into Scott's life, he was written out.

During MacKenzie Scott's marriage to Jeff Bezos, she was frequently seen at public events, from fundraisers to award shows and everything in between. However, since their divorce, it's incredibly rare to spot her in public. In fact, it seems a lot easier to get donations from Scott than to get her to attend public events. One of her only public appearances in 2025 was at a party for the "Marilyn Minter: Pretty/Dirty" film on October 11, 2025.

But it wasn't just her appearance that had us shocked — it was the outfit and hair. Scott ditched her signature side part and bangs for a more fitting center part that absolutely changed her look. Outfit-wise, she wasn't in her typical dress-and-heels duo, instead opting for an orange and black checkered pantsuit with a white blouse. This makes us think that while Scott is steering clear of public appearances, she's not totally unaware of what's going on in the world of style. The feminine menswear fashion trend peaked in the winter of 2024 and has carried on well into 2025. We absolutely love this look, but given how little we see of Scott, it's impossible to say just how much of her wardrobe has gotten a makeover.

Billionaires love a good donation. It's how they farm public goodwill, gain influence, and secure tax breaks in one fell swoop. However, MacKenzie Scott seems to be one of the few super-rich people who are giving with zero ulterior motives. She's rarely ever in the news for anything other than new donations, and chances are, if you search her up on Google or any other search engine, the top reports are of her recent donations. She foundednd has since donated more than $27 billion to fulfill her Giving Pledge.

According to Scott, she's inspired to give by a quote from author Annie Dillard's "The Writing Life": "Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book, or for another book ... The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now." Scott is also quick to admit her wealth and privilege. "I have a disproportionate amount of money to share," she wrote in her pledge letter. "My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won't wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty."

Giving away money, it seems, is a more time-consuming job than one would imagine. Despite being out of the spotlight, MacKenzie Scott seems to spend a lot more time on her family and foundation than on writing. Her only two published novels, "The Testing of Luther Albright" and "Traps," were released during her marriage to Jeff Bezos. Since 2013, when "Traps" was published, Scott has been pretty quiet on the author front.

This is perhaps the most shocking part of her transformation post-divorce. In 2013, Bezos told Vanity Fair how much Scott loved to write: "Writing makes her really happy. ... By the time I come down, she will be literally dancing in the kitchen, which the kids and I love." During the interview, Scott did admit the burden of a famous last name, so perhaps a pseudonym is in the works. More realistically, the billionaire may have simply been swept up by her commitment to her foundation. Perhaps once the safe is empty, MacKenzie Scott will write again.