Jay Leno Reveals Shocking ‘Advice’ He’s Received Amid Wife’s Dementia

Jay Leno is brushing off Hollywood pressure to “move on” — and his response is turning heads.

The longtime comedian and former late-night icon says he has been stunned by how many people have reacted with disbelief as he remains devoted to his wife, Mavis, who is living with advanced dementia. Some, he revealed, have even suggested he get a girlfriend.

Leno, 75, opened up during an appearance on the Life Above the Noise with Maria Shriver, where he reflected on caring for Mavis, his wife of 45 years.

“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. “Why?”

Shriver immediately pointed out the irony. “In sickness and in health,” she said, noting that when those words actually apply, people suddenly seem surprised.

That surprise, Leno explained, has often come straight from inside Hollywood.

“One guy actually said to me, ‘So are you going to get a girlfriend now?’” Leno recalled. “I said, ‘No, I already have a girlfriend. I’m married. I’ve been married 45 years.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, but you know what I mean.’ No — we’re in this together.”

Leno laughed off the suggestion, calling it “the most Hollywood thing” he’s ever heard. “You can’t say, ‘Honey, I’ll be with my girlfriend and I’ll be back later,’” he joked. “It just made me laugh.”

Still, the reaction has left him shaking his head.

“We just make a big deal out of it,” Leno said. “You’re doing the right thing because you’re supposed to. That used to be the norm. Now staying and doing what you promised is what shocks people.”

Leno and Mavis have been married since 1980 and never had children. He has consistently rejected the idea that caring for her is a sacrifice, instead framing it as a responsibility he willingly accepted decades ago.

In January 2024, Leno filed for legal conservatorship over Mavis’ estate, citing court documents that said she suffers from “major neurocognitive disorders, including dementia,” and no longer has the capacity to manage her affairs.

Beyond her marriage to the former Tonight Show host, Mavis Leno has long been a respected activist. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for her work advocating for Afghan women living under Taliban rule.

The couple first met at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles in the 1970s, long before fame, fortune, or late-night television dominance.

Today, Leno says he considers himself “very lucky in life,” even amid the challenges.

And if Hollywood doesn’t understand that kind of loyalty?

That, he suggests, says more about Hollywood than it does about him.