Jay Leno Gets Somber News Amid Wife’s Health Battle

Former late night host Jay Leno has taken on increasing responsibility with his wife’s ongoing health battles, according to the Daily Caller.

A Los Angeles Superior Court granted Leno conservatorship over wife, Mavis Leno, on Tuesday, an indication that the 77-year-old’s health is failing fast. In January, Mavis was diagnosed with “advanced dementia,” according to PEOPLE Magazine. Ronald Ostrin, a court-appointed representing Leno’s wife, said they were “in agreement” about the conservatorship and that Mavis is “receiving excellent care with her husband, Mr. Leno.”

The intent behind the conservatorship, Jay said, is to help establish “managed assets” that could be carried on in the form of a foundation if he also passes away, the outlet added.

“I think she’s in the least restrictive environment. I think she’s in very good care with Mr. Leno,” a judge stated at the proceeding before telling Jay Leno, “Everything you’re doing is right… I totally understand this is a difficult period.”

The judge accepted that Mavis did “consent” to the conservatorship as best she could and that Jay is “fit” to carry on the duties.

Jay Leno, 73, told the court that he is in the process of evaluating the best method for handling the couple’s joint assets.

Dr. Hart Cohen, the neurologist who has been providing care to Mavis, testified that Jay is “such a nice man and treats [Mavis] like gold,” further validating the court’s decision. He also referred to the former television host as “a standup guy” whose “private persona matches the public persona he projects,” according to PEOPLE.

Ostrin added that the recent deterioration in Mavis’ mental health fueled concern about her ability to conduct legal proceedings without assistance. She “sometimes does not know her husband, Jay, nor her date of birth,” he said while noting that she “has a lot of disorientation, will ruminate about her parents who have both passed.”

Jay and Mavis Leno have been married since 1980 and were most recently seen out on the town at Hollywood Improv comedy club in WeHo last week, the outlet added. Ostrin described their relationship as “long-term, loving and supportive,” as Mavis sees Jay as “her protector and she trusts him.”

The former “Tonight Show” host met his wife in the 1970s while performing a standup comedy act at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Mavis previously described the hesitancy by Leno, who admitted he “wasn’t very good at dating.”

“I always had this idea that I would never get married,” Mavis told PEOPLE in 1987. “But with Jay, I began to realize that this was the first time I was ever with someone where I had a perfect, calm sense of having arrived at my destination.”

Following their marriage in 1980, Jay joked, “Not screwing around is a huge key. You can do a lot. You can leave your underwear on the doorknob for the rest of your life if you don’t screw around.”

“I always tell guys when they meet a woman, ‘Marry your conscience. Marry someone who’s the person you wish you could be and it works out okay,'” he added.