Jay Leno and Wife Mavis Share Update Amid Her Dementia Battle

April 30, 2024 30

Jay Leno and his wife, Mavis Leno, were all smiles at the Los Angeles premiere of Unfrosted on Tuesday evening.

Just weeks after the 74-year-old comedian was granted conservatorship of the joint estate he shares with Mavis, 77, amid her dementia battle, the couple attended the red carpet event in support of Jerry Seinfeld‘s new Netflix film — which hits the streaming platform on May 3 — and shared an update on how they are doing these days.

“I feel great,” Mavis told ET’s Kevin Frazier as she waited for her husband of 44 years to join the interview.

The philanthropist smiled and laughed, leaning on Jay as he explained why they decided to make a date night out of the Unfrosted premiere.

Mavis and Jay Leno at the 'Unfrosted' premiere in Los Angeles on April 30. – Getty Images

“Thought I’d come to something fun for a change,” the former late-night host joked. “Everything is so controversial. Just to come to a funny, silly movie — it’s great. I think people will have a great time.”

As for their enduring love, Jay says that the key is being with his best friend and spending as much time together as they can.

“Well, we hang out every day,” he said of their close relationship. “We have a great time. 44 years [married], so we’re doing good.”

Their love has only been fortified further in recent months after Jay filed for conservatorship of their joint estate back in January. At the time, he asked a Los Angeles judge to grant him his bid so that he could “structure her living trust and other estate plans” in the event that he should die before her.

Mavis and Jay Leno – Getty

In court docs obtained by ET, Jay and his lawyers wrote that the estate conservatorship — a different kind of petition than one that would grant him authority over her person and health — was necessary as her condition continued to rapidly decline.

“Mavis has been progressively losing capacity and orientation to space and time for several years,” one filing read. “Jay is fully capable of continuing support for Mavis’ physical and financial needs, as he has throughout their marriage,” but her “current condition renders her incapable of executing the estate plan.”

A month after that news first emerged, ET obtained documents pertaining to Jay’s conservatorship petition, in which Mavis’ court-appointed legal counsel, Ronald Ostrin, urged the court to grant the bid. In the filing, Ostrin wrote that he had vetted Mavis’ advanced form of dementia and spoken with doctors who provided context surrounding the severity of her condition.

Jay Leno filed to become the conservator of his wife's estate in January. – Getty

The court-appointed legal counsel for Mavis wrote that her neurologist, Dr. Hart Cohen, said she “sometimes does not know her husband, Jay, nor her date of birth.” According to Dr. Cohen, Mavis often has “a lot of disorientation” and “ruminates about her parents who have both passed and her mother who died about 20 years ago.”

Dr. Cohen — a neurologist at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles — also told Ostrin that Jay “loves his wife very much” and “treats [Mavis] like gold.” He further contended that the former host of the Tonight Show waited to bring about a conservatorship of the estate “out of respect to her.”

Ultimately, Judge Brenda Penny — the same judge who oversaw Brittney Spears’ estate battle — sided with Jay and Ostrin and granted the conservatorship in early April. In a hearing at the time, Ostrin said that he believed Mavis would be taken care of by her husband under the order.

“She is very blessed. [H]aving had a mother of my own with dementia, Mrs. Leno is living in the least restrictive environment and being very well taken care of. They have a good plan of strategy,” Ostrin said.

Penny agreed, telling Jay, who appeared via Zoom, “I know this is a hard time when this needs to happen, and I thank you.”

Jay politely responded, “Thank you, your honor.”

Mavis and Jay Leno in 1980 – Getty Images

In the weeks since that last update, the couple has kept out of the public eye, even forgoing any major birthday celebrations for the Emmy Award winner, who turned 74 on April 28. Jay and Mavis — who do not have any children — told ET at the Unfrosted premiere that they are not big birthday people.

“We just have each other,” said Mavis.

“My life is a party anyway,” added her husband. “Every day is a good day.”

That party has been going since the mid-1970s when they first started dating. Back in 2014, Jay spoke with ET at a Television Academy Hall of Fame event and attested to the strength of their decades-long marriage, saying that after 34 years, he had no regrets.

“I would do exactly the same thing, I would marry the same person,” he said. “I’d do everything the same exactly.”

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