Jay Leno, 75, says he finds joy in caring for his wife, Mavis Leno, amid her dementia diagnosis.
“I’ve been very lucky in my life. My wife is fighting dementia and all that, but it’s not cancer. It’s not a tumor, so I enjoy taking care of her,” Leno told People on Sunday at the 34th Annual Love Ride event in California.
Leno met his wife in the ’70s at a comedy club in Los Angeles, and they married in 1980. In April 2024, he was granted conservatorship over her estate following her diagnosis.
The former late-night host says he doesn’t see caregiving as a burden.
“It’s not work, because people come up, and say they feel so sorry. I understand the sympathy, because I know a lot of people are going through it, but it’s OK,” Leno said.
“I like taking care of her. I enjoy her company, and we have a good time. We have fun with it, and it is what it is,” he added.
For Leno, this season is just another chapter in the life they’ve built together.
“There are going to be a couple of years that are tricky. So, the first 46, really great. But it’s OK. It’s not terrible. I’m not a woe-is-me person. I’m just lucky that I am able to take care of her,” he said.
During an April appearance on the “In Depth with Graham Bensinger” podcast, Leno said taking care of his wife is part of his commitment to her.
“At some point in my life, I’m going to be called upon to defend myself. I think that’s really what defines a marriage. I mean, that’s really what love is. That’s what you do. I mean, I’m glad I didn’t cut and run. I’m glad I didn’t run off with some woman half my age or any of that silly nonsense. I would rather be with her than doing something else,” Leno told host Graham Bensinger.
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Speaking to People in September, Leno said he always makes sure to be home at night, even on days when he has to travel for work.
“I come home every day. I went to Puerto Rico for the day and [the] plane waited, and I came right back,” he said. “That’s what I do. I try to be home every night.”
Other celebrities have also spoken about the challenges of being a caregiver to a loved one.
In August 2024, Yvette Nicole Brown said she made a “heartbreaking, guilt-ridden choice” to put her father, who has Alzheimer’s, into a care home after being his primary caregiver for over a decade.
“No longer having my dad with me every day breaks my heart, but I know — just as I did when I left ‘Community’ to care for him — I’ve made the right decision for him. His needs come first, always,” Brown told Business Insider in a statement.
Speaking to Diane Sawyer for an ABC Special in September, Emma Heming Willis said she had moved her husband, Bruce Willis, who has frontotemporal dementia, to a separate home where he has round-the-clock care.
“But I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters. You know, he would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs,” Heming Willis said.
