NEED TO KNOW
Jay Leno shared a sweet moment from his caretaking journey with wife Mavis, who was diagnosed with advanced dementia in April 2024
Leno told Hoda Kotb during a Nov. 20 appearance on Today that he will pretend they’re going to high school prom when he’s carrying her into the bathroom, saying “she thinks that’s funny”
“When she looks at me and smiles and says she loves me, I melt,” he said
Jay Leno shared the sweet ways he tries to make his wife, Mavis, laugh while taking care of her amid her ongoing struggle with dementia.
The former Tonight Show host, 75, opened up about the details of life as a caretaker for his wife of 46 years, who was diagnosed with advanced dementia in April 2024, while appearing on Today Nov. 20.
Leno — who was granted conservatorship over Mavis, 79, last year — told Hoda Kotb that he tries to make her laugh. “When I’m carrying her to the bathroom, we do this — and I call it Jay and Mavis at the prom in high school. So, we’re just like, back and forth, and she thinks that’s funny.”
Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Mavis Leno and Jay Leno in 2012
“It’s not the most romantic thing, really, when you think about it,” Leno quipped about carrying his wife to the bathroom, prompting Kotb to reply, “But Jay and Mavis going to the prom sounds pretty cool.”
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“I can tell that she appreciates it. The idea that you get married and you take these vows, nobody ever thinks they’ll be called upon to act on them, you know? You know that part, for better or worse. But even the worse is not that bad.”
“I can see the smile. I can tell when she’s happy,” Leno said. “When she looks at me and smiles and says she loves me, I melt.”
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Jay Leno with wife Mavis in 1992.
As he previously told PEOPLE, being Mavis’s caretaker isn’t 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 okay.”
“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 … There are going to be a couple of years that are tricky. So, the first 46, really great. But it’s okay. 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.”
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