Jay Leno And His Wife Mavis Had A Rare Date Night Amid Her Dementia Battle
Jay Leno has publicly shared that his wife, Mavis, has dementia.
The couple made a rare public appearance together on Tuesday at the premiere of Netflix’s Unfrosted.
Jay was recently named conservator of his 77-year-old wife’s estate.
Jay Leno has publicly shared that his wife, Mavis, has dementia and he's been busy helping with her care. But the couple made a rare public appearance together on Tuesday at the premiere of Netflix’s Unfrosted.
While Jay was recently named conservator of his 77-year-old wife’s estate, Mavis shared that she’s doing OK. “I feel great,” she told Entertainment Tonight.
“Thought I’d come to something fun for a change. Everything is so controversial,” Jay said. “Just to come to a funny, silly movie—it’s great. I think people will have a great time.”
There have been a lot of questions about Mavis’ diagnosis and you might have some yourself. Here’s what Jay and Mavis have shared about her dementia.
What type of dementia does Jay Leno’s wife have?
Dementia is an umbrella term that describes a range of neurological conditions that impact the brain and worse over time, National Institute on Aging (NIA) explains. Symptoms can include things like getting lost, being forgetful, having trouble concentrating, and having difficulty speaking. There are four major types of dementia, per the NIA, but Jay and Mavis haven’t publicly shared which type she has.
Mavis’ illness has been progressing for 'several years.'
In court documents obtained by ET, Jay and his lawyers requested an estate conservatorship.
"Mavis has been progressively losing capacity and orientation to space and time for several years," the filing stated. "Jay is fully capable of continuing support for Mavis' physical and financial needs, as he has throughout their marriage," the filing read. However, her "current condition renders her incapable of executing the estate plan,” it said.
She sometimes 'does not' recognize Jay.
In a January conservatorship filing, Jay and his lawyers wrote that Mavis has “advanced dementia,” per People. The conservatorship would set up a living trust for Mavis to make sure she has “managed assets” provided for her with future care if Jay died.
An additional report filed by Mavis’ court-appointed counsel, Ronald Ostrin, said that she “sometimes does not know her husband, Jay, nor her date of birth.”
The filing also said that Mavis “has a lot of disorientation, will ruminate about her parents who have both passed and her mother who died about 20 years ago.”
But the report also described Mavis as a “delightful person” with a “charming personality,” although it “was clear she had cognitive impairment.”
Jay has been granted conservatorship over his wife’s estate.
In mid-April,Jay was granted conservatorship over Mavis’ estate. A judge determined that Jay was “suitable and qualified” to be appointed her conservator, per CNN.
The judge also said that there was “clear and convincing evidence that a conservatorship of the estate is necessary and appropriate,” because Mavis is “unable” to independently manage her financial affairs due to dementia, court documents obtained by CNN said.
They’re still more in love than ever.
Jay told ET during their date night that he and Mavis are doing well. “We hang out every day. We have a great time. 44 years! So we’re doing good,” he said.
The couple doesn’t have any kids, with Mavis telling ET, “we just have each other.” Then, Jay sweetly chimed in with this: “Every day is a good day."
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