Jay Leno has revealed the one shocking question he’s been asked about his personal life amid his wife Mavis Leno’s battle with dementia.
The pair have been married for 45 years and have been navigating a new reality over the past two since Mavis was diagnosed with advanced dementia in early 2024.
Despite the vows they made decades ago, Leno revealed he has been asked if he would “get a girlfriend” now that his wife is ill.
Watch the video above.
The former late-night talk show host expressed that such a thing had never crossed his mind as he made a vow to his wife.
But it’s a response that Leno says some people are shocked by.
“You take a vow when you get married, and people are stunned, they’re so shocked that you would live up to it,” Leno said in a Life Above the Noise conversation with Maria Shriver.
“My favourite thing was – and this is the most Hollywood thing – a guy said to me, ‘So you’re going to get a girlfriend now?’,” Leno continued.
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“Well, no. I have a girlfriend. I’m married. We’ve been married 45 years. [We’re] kind of in this together here.”
Shriver proceeded to ask Leno if he thinks people are surprised by his decision to stay loyal to his wife.
Leno explained that he feels there’s been a change where that kind of loyalty is no longer the norm.
“We just make a big deal out of it,” Leno said.
“You’re just doing the right thing because you’re supposed to.
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“That used to be the norm and then when you strayed that was the out-of-whack part.
“Now the out-of-whack part is fairly common and staying and doing what you’re supposed to do is stunning to people.”
Mavis’ advanced dementia diagnosis was revealed in early 2024.
Soon after, Leno was granted conservatorship over her and he has been acting as a caregiver for her since.
Speaking to People late last year, Leno expressed that he feels “lucky” to be her caregiver.
“I’m not a woe-is-me person. I’m just lucky that I am able to take care of her,” he told the publication.
“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.”
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