How Jay Leno Deals with His Wife’s Dementia in a Heartwarming Way

Jay Leno has revealed that laughter has been the key to keeping the spark alive in his marriage to his wife, Mavis, after her dementia diagnosis.

The comedian revealed that his wife, Mavis, sometimes has memory lapses and forgets who he is. Despite this, he finds joy in making her laugh, especially during their movie nights.

Jay Leno announced that his wife was diagnosed with advanced dementia last year and that he has been granted conservatorship over her.

Leno shared that movie nights with his wife have significantly changed amid her battle with dementia.

The former talk show host and Mavis married in November 1980 and have been beside each other ever since.

Despite her ailing health, Leno said he has used laughter to keep the spark going in their home.

Leno shared with the New York Post that he still manages to bring laughter to Mavis every day, which he finds enjoyable. One of their favorite pastimes is watching reruns of his old segments from his time hosting “The Tonight Show.”

He mentioned that they often revisit these segments on YouTube, particularly the ‘Headlines’ segments they did over the years. Mavis finds them entertaining, even if she has seen them before, as she tends to forget and laughs at the jokes as if hearing them for the first time. This brings a great deal of satisfaction to Leno as a comedian.

Last year, Leno disclosed that Mavis had been diagnosed with advanced dementia and that he’d been granted conservatorship over her.

According to People Magazine, during a hearing at the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Mavis’s court-appointed attorney, Robert Ostrin, said that she was “in agreement” with the conservatorship, adding that she’s “receiving excellent care with her husband, Mr. Leno.”

“I think she’s in the least restrictive environment,” the judge agreed. “I think she’s in very good care with Mr. Leno.”

At the time, the judge told Leno that “everything you’re doing is right” and that “I totally understand this is a difficult period.” The judge then noted that the TV personality was “fit” for the role.

Leno’s conservatorship of his wife, Mavis, came after it was revealed that Mavis “sometimes does not know her husband nor her date of birth.”

Mavis’ attorney also shared that she “has a lot of disorientation” and “will ruminate about her parents, who have both passed and her mother, who died about 20 years ago.”

“Based on my interaction with Mr. Leno, plus some research I have done, he seems to be a standup guy,” Ostrin said about giving the comedian conservatorship over his wife.

The attorney added, “And his private persona matches the public persona he projects.”

Despite having to look after his wife, Leno managed to spare some time for his community. He was seen giving food to firefighters who worked tirelessly to put out the inferno that ravaged most of Southern California.

According to USA Today, the former late-night talk show host stopped by the Pacific Palisades area in a 1941 American LaFrance fire truck to serve meals to firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department as the blaze raged.

Reflecting on the disaster at the time, Leno told CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “It’s an entire city wiped out. I mean, Pacific Palisades, it doesn’t exist and probably won’t exist for the next five, six years probably.”

He noted that he was encouraged by the “sense of community” he’s witnessed through the city’s relief efforts, adding, “We’ll get through it; we always do.”

Leno, who is well-known within the industry for his comical pedigree and hosting abilities, has yet to host the Oscars.

The famous award ceremony has tapped other late-night talk show hosts for the honor, including Johnny Carson, who has hosted it five times, and Jimmy Kimmel, who has three hosting gigs under his belt.

“I think he’ll be great,” Leno said of Conan O’Brien, who’s set to host the upcoming 95th Academy Awards in March, per Men’s Journal. “He’s a very funny guy. He’s very creative. I’ll watch, sure. He’ll do good.”

However, Leno’s absence from the list of hosts seems to be his own doing. He recently admitted that he has never wanted to host the Oscars.

“I sat down with my staff and said, ‘What do we do? We have to do a show the day before the Oscars. We have to do a show the day after the Oscars. Do we save our best jokes for our show? Or do we give all of our best jokes to the Oscar show?'” Leno explained.

“And we realized that when you see somebody on TV every night, it’s not special to see them hosting the Oscars,” he continued. “That’s my feeling. You’re on TV too much. I think Conan will be good because he’s not on every night like he used to be … I think he’ll do fine.”