{"id":415997,"date":"2026-01-16T03:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T03:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/415997\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T03:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T03:16:10","slug":"jay-leno-says-hollywood-is-stunned-by-his-loyalty-to-wife-with-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/415997\/","title":{"rendered":"Jay Leno says Hollywood is stunned by his loyalty to wife with dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

Jay Leno<\/a> continues to stand by his wife during her battle with advanced dementia, a decision that has stunned some in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

The former “Tonight Show” host revealed that while caring for his wife of 45 years, Mavis, some people have reacted with disbelief and even suggested he find a girlfriend.<\/p>\n

“You take a vow when you get married, and people are stunned \u2026 they\u2019re so shocked that you would live up to it. Why?” Leno said during an appearance on the “Life Above the Noise with Maria Shriver”<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n

JAY LENO TRIES TO FIND THE HUMOR DURING WIFE’S DEMENTIA BATTLE<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Jay <\/p>\n

Jay Leno said people suggesting he get a girlfriend is “the most Hollywood thing.” (Michael Tullberg\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Shriver reacted, “In sickness and in health. \u2026 Then, when there is a sickness and you\u2019re there, you\u2019re saying people are like, \u2018Whoa.\u2019”<\/p>\n

Leno said the most surprising comment came straight out of Hollywood.<\/p>\n

“Yeah, my favorite thing was \u2014 and this is the most Hollywood thing \u2014 a guy said to me, \u2018Uh, so are you going to get a girlfriend now?\u2019 Well, no, I have a girlfriend. I\u2019m married. I\u2019ve been married 45 years. \u2018Yeah, but you know what I mean.\u2019 No \u2026 we’re kind of in this together, you know. You can\u2019t, \u2018Honey, honey, I\u2019ll be with my girlfriend, I\u2019ll be back later.\u2019 That was like the most Hollywood thing. It just made me laugh,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Jay <\/p>\n

Leno said he laughs off the thought of getting a girlfriend. (Nina Zacuto)<\/p>\n

Shriver asked whether the reaction had surprised him.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n

“But you\u2019re saying that people \u2026 their reaction has been surprising to you?” she asked.<\/p>\n

\"Jay <\/p>\n

Leno was appointed conservator over Mavis’ estate in 2024. (Charley Gallay)<\/p>\n

“We just make a big deal out of it,” Leno replied. “You\u2019re just doing the right thing because you\u2019re supposed to. Right? That\u2019s kind of \u2014 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\u2019re supposed to do is stunning to people. Well, we kind of made a deal, you know.”<\/p>\n

LIKE WHAT YOU\u2019RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n

Leno, 75, has been married to Mavis<\/a>, 79, since 1980. The couple never had children. He has described standing by her side not as a sacrifice but as a responsibility he accepted decades ago.<\/p>\n

\"Jay <\/p>\n

Leno, 75, has been married to Mavis, 79, since 1980. (NBC)<\/p>\n

In January 2024, Leno filed for conservatorship<\/a> over Mavis\u2019 estate, stating she “lacks the necessary capacity to execute the estate plan” due to “major neurocognitive disorders (including dementia),” according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

Mavis is far more than the spouse of a TV icon. She earned a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2002 for her advocacy supporting Afghan women living under Taliban rule.<\/p>\n

The couple first met at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Giang-Paunon is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to stephanie.giang@fox.com and on Twitter: @SGiangPaunon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Jay Leno continues to stand by his wife during her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298190,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,14608,26776,134,137,17124,2581,427],"class_list":["post-415997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-brain-health","tag-couples","tag-entertainment","tag-health","tag-late-night","tag-marriage","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}