It was revealed in 2024 that Mavis Leno, to whom the talk show legend has been married since 1980, has been battling an advanced form of dementia.

Jay Leno stunned by question if he would ‘get a girlfriend’ while his wife battles dementia

It was revealed in 2024 that Mavis Leno, to whom the talk show legend has been married since 1980, has been battling an advanced form of dementia.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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January 14, 2026 10:55 p.m. ET

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Jay Leno and Mavis Leno in Malibu in 2022. Credit:

Owen Kolasinski/BFA.com/Shutterstock

- Jay Leno was shocked to be asked if he was thinking he might "get a girlfriend" as Mavis Leno, his wife of 45 years, battles dementia.

- "You take a vow when you get married, and people are stunned, they're shocked when you live up to it," the talk show legend said.

- Mavis Leno's advanced dementia diagnosis was revealed in 2024, when her husband was granted conservatorship over her estate amid her declining health.**

Jay Leno made a vow, and he's sticking by it.

The iconic late-night veteran has remained steadfast by the side of his wife, Mavis Leno, since her advanced dementia diagnosis was disclosed in 2024. Supporting his partner of 45 years is a no-brainer to Leno, but he's learned it wouldn't be to everyone in the same situation.

"You take a vow when you get married, and people are stunned, they're shocked when you live up to it," Leno told Maria Shriver on the latest episode of her *Life Above the Noise* podcast.

"My favorite thing — this is the most Hollywood thing — a guy said to me, 'So are you going to get a girlfriend now?'" Leno said he replied, "'Well, no. I have a girlfriend. I'm married.' We've been married 45 years, you know what I mean? [We're] kind of in this together. You can't go, 'Honey, I'll be with my girlfriend, I'll be back later."

Leno told Shriver that he's "just doing the right thing because you're supposed to. That kind of 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're supposed to do is stunning to people. 'Why do you do that?' 'Well, we kind of made a deal.'"

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Jay Leno opens up about 'toughest part' of wife Mavis' advanced dementia

Leno was in the right place to talk about stepping up to care for a loved one after they've been transformed by a medical condition.

Shriver, the niece of late President John F. Kennedy and cousin of current Department of Health and Human Services secretary, became an advocate for those living with Alzheimer's disease after her father, Sargent Shriver, was diagnosed in 2003. She executive produced the docuseries *The Alzheimer's Project *in 2009, which won two Emmy Awards.

She pointed out that there are "millions" of people in this country "doing caregiving, who are kind of unseen, invisible." Leno agreed, but shrugged off the "toll" many assume it takes on him.

"I haven't really been tested in my life. I wasn't in the army. I didn't have to shoot anybody. So this is that thing," he reflected. "I'm glad I'm passing the test, because you never quite know what you're going to do in that situation, or any situation. So I like to think I made the right decision."

Jay Leno and Mavis Leno in Los Angeles in 1987.

Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty

Leno opened up about his wife's dementia diagnosis in November, a year after he was granted conservatorship over Mavis' estate amid her declining health. He shared that his wife is already beginning to exhibit signs of the condition, as when she'll "point to something and say something that doesn't quite make sense."

But he remained positive about his current outlook, sharing, "She's not forgetting me. That hasn't happened yet. She seems extremely comfortable now. And she seems happy, and she seems contented. It's actually okay. It's good. I enjoy taking care of her."**

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