'It's Not Cancer!': Jay Leno Emotionally Speaks About Caring for Wife Mavis During Her Battle with Advanced Dementia

Transcript

00:00It's not cancer! Jay Leno emotionally speaks about caring for wife Mavis during her battle

00:05with advanced dementia. Jay Leno has shared a touching update on his ailing wife Mavis,

00:11who he has been caring for as she battles advanced dementia, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

00:17The former late-night host, 75, opened up about being the primary caregiver of his wife of 45

00:22years and how lucky he feels to take on the emotionally taxing role. Jay Leno attended

00:28the 34th annual love ride in California, telling people he's been caring for his wife Mavis,

00:3379, since her advanced dementia diagnosis in April 2024. He confessed,

00:39I've been very lucky in my life. My wife is fighting dementia and all that,

00:43but it's not cancer. It's not a tumor, so I enjoy taking care of her.

00:47Jay then addressed misconceptions about being his wife's caregiver and how the disease has

00:52impacted their marriage of nearly half a century. The comedian said, it's not work because people

00:57come up and say they feel so sorry. I understand the sympathy because I know a lot of people are

01:02going through it, but it's okay. I like taking care of her. Jay explained, I enjoy her company

01:08and we have a good time. We have fun with it and it is what it is. Jay went on to acknowledge how

01:13after more than four decades together, they've recently experienced some tricky years, but it's

01:17not terrible. He said, there are going to be a couple of years that are tricky. So the first 46,

01:23really great, but it's okay. It's not terrible. Jay Leno said he feels lucky to care for his wife

01:29Mavis, 79, despite dementia costs, enjoying her company and balancing work, noting he'll return

01:35home from the charity ride to make her lunch. Back in September, the comedian revealed he always

01:40makes sure to be home at night, even when traveling for work. He said, I come home every day. I went to

01:46Puerto Rico for the day and the plane waited and I came right back. That's what I do. I try to be

01:51home every night. So that's kind of what I do. When Mavis was diagnosed last year, Jay was granted

01:56conservatorship of his wife, whose lawyer said she was in agreement with the order. Mavis' attorney

02:01additionally said she's receiving excellent care with her husband, Mr. Leno.