It's been two and half months since Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Aisha Bowe, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King and Amanda Nguyen spent 11 minutes in space on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin flight. The faux feminist marketing of the rocket launch was so intensive and the landing so emotional that it seemed to bind the passengers together in a sisterhood – especially Sanchez and Perry.
Lauren Sanchez's Parisian hen party in May was case in point. The 'Woman's World' singer was right by her side on the trip, along with a few other familiar faces including Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner and Eva Longoria. All of whom, until recently, were expected at Sanchez's wedding to Amazon chairman, Blue Origin founder and world's third richest man, Jeff Bezos, in Venice on Friday.
Sadly, amid rumours that Perry and her long-term fiancé Orlando Bloom have broken up after seven years together, it looks like she won't be coming.
When are Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez getting married?
Sanchez and Bezos are due to tie the knot on 27 June in Venice. So large and expansive is their wedding that they have reportedly booked out the entire city for their six-day ceremony.
Their nuptials have caused a great deal of controversy in Venice, with a No Space for Bezos activist group threatening to fill the canals with inflatable crocodiles to block celebrity guests from entering. As a result, the couple have reportedly moved the ceremony from the 16th century Scuola della Misericordia to Arsenale, a historic complex of shipyards surrounded by walls.
It's definitely one to watch this weekend as protests around the Italian city are almost inevitable. Protesters say the event risks turning the world heritage site, which continues to suffer from the effects of excessive tourism, into 'a playground for the rich'. Which is a hard point to disprove when you consider that 95, yes 95, private planes are expected to land at the city's airport in the coming days to accommodate the arrival of the all-star guest list.
Who is invited to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's wedding?
Around 200 wedding guests are expected with household names like Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Ivanka Trump and Leonardo DiCaprio expected to arrive before the 27 June.
Why is Katy Perry not going to Lauren Sanchez's wedding?
Apparently, despite their 10 minutes sat in the stars together, it's Orlando Bloom who is attending the wedding rather than Perry. On 24 June, TMZ reported that Bloom was getting ready to fly to Venice. 'He's the life of the party,' the source said. 'He's gonna hit the dance floor hard.' The report also revealed that 'all indications are [Bloom is] now a single man'.
Perry, on the other hand, is rumoured to be missing the wedding because of her tour schedule. Bloom and Perry were recently spotted in Perth with their daughter, but it sounds as though Bloom won't be there for long. Meanwhile, Perry is due to perform in Adelaide all weekend so won't be at the wedding.
Have Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom split up?
Despite conflicting reports and the fact they were recently spotted in Australia together, it looks like Perry and Bloom's relationship is on the rocks.
The pair have been engaged since 2019, but on 13 June, a source told People the pair were ‘pretty much done’ adding they ‘don’t really see them being able to turn things around’. The source continued: ‘It’s been breaking down the last couple of months and isn’t looking good.’
Adding more fuel to the fire, during a recent appearance at a gay club night in Melbourne, Australia, Perry could be seen singing without her signature ruby engagement ring. Bloom proposed to Perry on Valentine’s Day 2019 with a gorgeous flower ring - rumoured to be worth a staggering $5million - but instead, she switched the showstopper ring for a plain silver band.
The news that Bloom is attending Bezos and Sanchez's wedding without a +1 has done nothing to quash the rumours.
Apparently, one source of tension for the couple (rather awkwardly) was the Blue Origin space trip, which was largely lambasted by the media. ‘From day one, Orlando didn’t think going on the Blue Origin mission was a good idea, and knew she would face backlash,’ a source told The Sun. And according to People's sources, issues in the relationship were also exacerbated by the poor reaction to Perry’s 143 album, particularly her single 'Woman's World'.
'[Bloom] complains about her going to space, and then wants to go to the wedding of the people who made it possible for her to do this in the first place,' the source added. 'That’s difficult for her to accept. They’re already spiralling and now the wedding is another thing that they have to fight about.'
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across entertainment, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things pop culture for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow with equal respect).