Jay Leno shares touching comments about becoming wife Mavis’ caretaker amid dementia diagnosis

Jay Leno has opened up about being his wife Mavis’ caretaker after she was diagnosed with dementia.

The 74-year-old comedian reflected on the ups and downs of his relationship with Mavis, whom he’s been married to since 1980, during an appearance on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, which aired on Wednesday. Jay confessed that before his wife was diagnosed with dementia, he never felt like he was “challenged” in his life.

“When I get married, you sort of take a vow: ‘Will I live up to this? Or will I be like a sleazy guy if something happens to my wife, I’m out banging the cashier at the mini mart?’” he told Graham Bensinger. “No, I didn’t.”

“I enjoy the time with my wife. I go home, I cook dinner for her, watch TV and it’s OK,” he continued. “It’s basically what we did before, except now I have to feed her and do all those things.”

The former Tonight Show host said he likes taking care of his wife, since she’s been a “very independent” woman, and he likes that “he’s needed.” He detailed how he shows her pictures on flashcards to help her memory.

“It’s kind of fun. I’ll go, ‘Honey, that’s President Obama. Remember we had dinner?’ [She’d say] ‘Oh, not me.’ “[I’d say] ‘Oh yeah, honey, it was you,’” he said. “You have to find the humor in it.”

Jay also admitted that he’s had a few challenges as her caretaker.

“When you have to feed someone and change them and carry them to the bathroom and do all that kind of stuff every day. It’s a challenge,” he added. “And it’s not that I enjoy doing it, but I guess I enjoy doing it. It’s OK.”

Jay said that he was glad he didn’t “cut and run with some woman” half his age during his marriage. “I would rather be with her than doing something else,” he concluded about Mavis.

In January 2024, Jay filed for conservatorship over his wife’s estate. The filing stated that Mavis “has been progressively losing capacity and orientation to space and time for several years” and her “current condition renders her incapable of executing the estate plan.”

Along with managing Mavis’ assets and their shared property, Jay requested to be in charge of a joint estate that would provide for her and her brother, who is “her sole living heir aside from Jay.” The couple does not have children, and Mavis has no other siblings.

It is unclear when Mavis was first diagnosed. The filing stated that she “suffers from dementia, major neurocognitive disorder” and included a doctor’s report describing her symptoms and decline of her cognitive function.

In April 2024, Mavis’s court-appointed counsel, Ronald Ostrin, filed a report noting that Mavis “consents” to the idea of Jay’s conservatorship petition, according to court documents viewed by People at the time. So, Ostrin formally approved Jay’s request, with the petition also supported by Mavis’ neurologist, Dr. Hart Cohen.

During an interview with Fox News Digital a month later, Jay opened up about his dynamic with his wife, saying that they “have a lot of fun” with each other.

“People say marriage is difficult. I don’t get it,” he shared. “I enjoy her company. I enjoy taking care of her. We have fun. She’s the most independent woman I ever knew. Again, I just couldn’t be prouder of her. I am part of her legacy, and that’s what I’m proudest of.”