{"id":10237,"date":"2026-01-23T19:14:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/?p=10237"},"modified":"2026-01-23T19:14:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:14:31","slug":"jay-leno-rejects-hollywood-pressure-to-get-a-girlfriend-as-wife-battles-dementia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/strongermarriages\/2026\/01\/jay-leno-rejects-hollywood-pressure-to-get-a-girlfriend-as-wife-battles-dementia.html","title":{"rendered":"Jay Leno Rejects Hollywood Pressure to \u2018Get a Girlfriend’ as Wife Battles Dementia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MLM IMAGES Los Angeles \/ Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jay Leno has made a career out of making people laugh, but when it comes to his marriage, the longtime comedian takes things very seriously. As his wife Mavis battles advanced dementia, Leno says he\u2019s choosing to honor the vows he made more than 40 years ago \u2014 a commitment that, surprisingly, has shocked some in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

During a recent appearance on the “Life Above the Noise with Maria Shriver” podcast, Leno described the unexpected reactions he\u2019s received while caring for his wife. \u201cYou take a vow when you get married, and people are stunned \u2026 they\u2019re so shocked that you would live up to it. Why?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Shriver was equally puzzled by the cultural moment. \u201cIn sickness and in health. \u2026 Then, when there is a sickness and you\u2019re there, you\u2019re saying people are like, \u2018Whoa,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But the most jaw-dropping suggestion came straight from Hollywood itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, 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\u201d Leno shared. \u201cWell, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shriver asked if the response from others had surprised him, and Leno admitted that it has. \u201cWe just make a big deal out of it,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leno, 75, married Mavis in 1980, and although the couple never had children, their partnership has been central to both of their lives. He doesn\u2019t describe caregiving as a burden, but rather as a responsibility he took on long ago \u2014 one he still stands by today.<\/p>\n

Earlier in 2024, Leno filed for conservatorship over Mavis\u2019 estate, saying she \u201clacks the necessary capacity to execute the estate plan\u201d due to \u201cmajor neurocognitive disorders (including dementia),\u201d according to court filings obtained by Fox News Digital<\/em>.<\/p>\n

While many know Mavis as the spouse of a television icon, she has her own remarkable legacy. In 2002, she earned a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for advocating on behalf of Afghan women living under Taliban rule \u2014 an issue she championed long before it reached mainstream attention. The couple first met in the 1970s at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles and have been inseparable ever since.<\/p>\n

For Leno, loyalty isn’t unusual \u2014 it\u2019s simply what marriage means. And in a town that often celebrates reinvention and moving on, his steadfast devotion may be the most surprising thing of all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jay Leno has made a career out of making people laugh, but when it comes to his marriage, the longtime comedian takes things very seriously. As his wife Mavis battles advanced dementia, Leno says he\u2019s choosing to honor the vows he made more than 40 years ago \u2014 a commitment that, surprisingly, has shocked some…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":462,"featured_media":10243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nJay Leno Rejects Hollywood Pressure to \u2018Get a Girlfriend' as Wife Battles Dementia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jay Leno rejects pressure to \u201cget a girlfriend\u201d and stays devoted to wife of more than 40 years, Mavis, amid her battle with dementia.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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