Celebrities help Southern Californians recover from wildfires
Eva Longoria, Jay Leno and Jessica Alba were all seen volunteering to help with wildfire recovery.
Jay Leno is glad he stayed committed to wife Mavis.
The former “Tonight Show” host discussed staying true to his vows and being a dedicated caretaker to Mavis Leno, 78, amid her “advanced” dementia diagnosis, in an April 23 appearance on “In Depth with Graham Bensinger.”
“When you get married, you take a vow,” he said, noting that he asked himself, “Will I live up to this? Or will I be like a sleazy guy if something happens to my wife?”
Leno, 74, said he still enjoys the time spent with his wife. “I go home, I cook dinner for her, watch TV. It’s basically what we did before, except now I have to feed her and do all those things, but I like it,” he continued. “I like taking care of her. She’s a very independent woman, so I like that I’m needed.”
Leno said that despite people with dementia forgetting their loved ones, he tries to remind his wife of their memories together with pictures on flash cards.
“It’s kind of fun,” he said. “(I’ll go), ‘Honey, that’s President Obama, remember we had dinner?’ (and she’ll say), ‘Oh no, not me.’”
He replied, “Yeah, honey, it was you,” but she was adamant, “No, I don’t think so!”
In January 2024, Leno filed to be appointed conservator of his wife’s estate amid her diagnosis. Mavis “suffers from dementia, major neurocognitive disorder,” her physician wrote in a doctor’s capacity declaration, which also outlined the decline of her cognitive function.
Leno said “you have to find the humor” in caring for someone at her stage. He told a story about taking Mavis shoe shopping, and upon reaching the register, realizing his wife picked a $700 pair of shoes that looked remarkably similar to a $24 pair, but he bought them anyway.
Though Leno is realistic about what being a caregiver to your spouse means.
“When you have to feed someone and change them and carry them to the bathroom and do all that kind of stuff every day, it’s a challenge,” he said. “And it’s not that I enjoy doing it, but I guess I enjoy doing it.
“It’s OK. Because I’m not just (thinking), ‘This person is attractive and sexy,’ and having sex with them and everything. At some point in my life, I’m going to be called upon to defend myself,” he said of the moral obligation. “I think that’s really what defines a marriage. I mean, that’s really what love is. That’s what you do.”
The former late-night host said he’s proud he stayed the course.
“I’m glad I didn’t cut and run. I’m glad I didn’t run off with some woman half my age or any of that silly nonsense. I would rather be with her than doing something else,” he said.
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