Jay Leno offered an update on his wife, Mavis Leno, after news of her dementia diagnosis went public.
“She’s fine, everybody’s good, we’re doing well,” Jay, 73, told the Daily Mail on Monday, January 29. “I just set up a will, in case something happens.”
Photos obtained by the publication showed Jay driving around his neighborhood in a black car, offering photographers a thumbs up.
Us Weekly confirmed on Friday, January 26, that Jay had filed for a conservatorship over Mavis, 77. Her dementia diagnosis was the catalyst for Jay’s recently filed motion, which is solely for the purpose of estate planning.
Court documents obtained by Us revealed that Mavis’ physician performed an examination and confirmed that she struggles with “memory, comprehension/processing [and] delusional ideation.” She is currently being medicated for dementia, depression and anxiety.
“It is my professional opinion that, due to her condition, Mavis is unable to meaningfully participate in the hearing on the Petition to Appoint a Probate Conservator nor would she understand the nature, force or effect of the hearing should she attend,” the doctor wrote in the docs, noting that the hearing would “cause her undue stress, confusion and anguish.”
The filing also stated that Mavis has no objection to Jay’s request to be appointed as probate conservator of her estate.
Jay noted that Mavis did not handle her finances throughout their relationship. He intends to include a revocable trust and will in his estate plan, which would provide for Mavis and her brother.
A hearing regarding the conservatorship is scheduled for April 9.
Jay and Mavis have been married for 44 years. They met in 1976 and tied the knot in 1980.
Jay gushed over his successful marriage during a September 2023 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
“We have a great time. You have to marry a normal person,” he said at the time. “Guys say [to me] all the time, ‘I met this girl, she’s crazy but the sex is unbelievable.’ I go to them, ‘You’re right, but when the sex is over, she’s still crazy. Now, you have 23 hours of crazy until [the] good-crazy hour comes back.’”
His go-to marriage advice was to “marry your conscience.” The talk show host added, “Marry the person you wish you could be, who is kind and maybe whatever fault you have, doesn’t have those faults. That’s worked out for me, so to me, I married the perfect person. It worked out good.”
