Jeff Bezos' girlfriend, Lauren Sánchez, says she plans to go to space next year

Sánchez, a trained helicopter pilot and founder of an aerial filming company, plans to go to space in 2023 with "a great group of females."

• Jeff Bezos went to space last year, and his girlfriend is going next.
• Lauren Sánchez told CNN she plans to go to space in 2023 with "a great group of females."
• Also in the CNN interview released Monday, Bezos said he planned to give away most of his $124 billion fortune in his lifetime.

Jeff Bezos flew into space last year, and soon it'll be his girlfriend's turn.

Lauren Sánchez told CNN in an interview published Monday that she plans to go to space sometime in 2023.

A former reporter and anchor, Sánchez is also a trained helicopter pilot and founded an aerial filming and production company in 2016 called Black Ops Aviation. She and Bezos have publicly been in a relationship since 2019.

Sánchez told CNN that the former Amazon CEO won't be on the spaceflight with her, but she'll be joined by "a great group of females."

Bezos went to space in July 2021, on the first human spaceflight for Blue Origin, his aerospace company. Also on the flight were his brother Mark; then-82-year-old aviator Wally Funk, and Dutch teenager Oliver Daemen.

Also in the CNN interview Monday, Bezos pledged to give away the majority of his $124 billion fortune in his lifetime. He had drawn flak in recent years for not having signed the Giving Pledge, a vow by some of the world's richest people to donate most of their wealth to charitable causes.

Bezos' ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, signed the Giving Pledge in 2019 and has given away more than $12 billion since.

In addition, Bezos addressed rumors that he's interested in buying the NFL's Washington Commanders.

"Yes, I've heard that buzz," he told CNN.

"I grew up in Houston, Texas, and I played football growing up as a kid … and it is my favorite sport," he added. "So we'll just have to wait and see."