To Jay Leno, His Marriage Vows Are No Joke

It’s been over a decade since comedian Jay Leno departed as host of The Tonight Show, and several years since he disclosed that Mavis, his wife of 45 years, is battling dementia.

Mingling with attendees and reporters this past weekend at a Harley-Davidson event this past weekend in California, Leno reiterated his commitment to personally caring for Mavis in their home.

“I’ve been very lucky in my life,” he said. “My wife is fighting dementia and all that, but it’s not cancer. It’s not a tumor.”

An estimated 6.7 million Americans are fighting the disease, a number that is expected to double in the next few decades. Characterized by a progressive loss of intellectual capacity, especially memory, the condition not only burdens the individual who suffers from it, but also the loved ones often tasked with caring for them.

With an estimated net worth of over $450 million, Jay Leno has the means to arrange for Mavis’ care in any facility they desire – but he’s chosen to manage it himself. On Sunday, he reflected on the situation in both candid and compassionate terms. To the legendary comic, caring for his wife is a labor of love.

“It’s not work, because people come up, and say they feel so sorry,” he shared. “I understand the sympathy, because I know a lot of people are going through it, but it’s okay.”

“I enjoy taking care of her. 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 continued.

But then he went even farther.

“I’m just lucky that I am able to take care of her,” he added. “I would still rather be with her than not be with her. But is it ideal? No.”

Not every couple is in the position to do what Jay is doing. Whether lacking the flexibility, financial means or even the extent of the condition of the patient or the loved one doing the caretaking, there are many heartbreaking cases where caring for a spouse at home is either not safe or possible.

In fact, there are over one million Americans currently being cared for in an assisted living facility. Thankfully, Jay Leno has managed to keep Mavis at home.

Speaking of home, a sweet and remarkable story is told of Jay buying Mavis the house of her dreams back in Newport, Rhode Island in 2017. This was before her dementia diagnosis. Driving along a scenic road adjacent to the ocean, Mavis spied a spectacular Louis XIV inspired chateau.

“Look at that house,” she remarked to her husband. “It is unbelievable.”

“It is unbelievable,” agreed Jay. And then spoken only like a person with major financial means, he said, “Do you want that house? Let’s see if it’s for sale.”

Within the hour they had toured the 15,861-square-foot estate with the caretaker and made a deal over the phone with the owner to buy it – “as-is, with everything, all the furniture, the ketchup in the refrigerator, the salt shakers,” recalled Leno.

Jay is now 75 and Mavis is 79. The comedian recognizes that tomorrow won’t necessarily be an extension of today.

“There are going to be a couple of years that are tricky,” he predicted. “So, the first 46, really great. But it’s okay. It’s not terrible. I’m not a woe-is-me person.”

Jay Leno is a legendary comedian – but he’s also a husband who takes his marital vows seriously and literally.

On November 3, 1980, Jay pledged to Mavis, “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”

To Jay, that pledge is no joke.

Image from Getty.