Jay Leno Recalls Funny Anecdote While Shopping With Wife Mavis

Nine months after being granted a conservatorship over his wife, Mavis Leno, Jay Leno is sharing an update on how they are doing.

While talking with People about his new movie, Midas Man, Leno also opened up about life with his wife of 44 years since she was diagnosed with dementia.

“You try to find the humor in this situation,” he told People, recalling a recent shopping trip he took his wife on.

“I can see she’s a little down, [so I said], ‘Come on, we’ll go to the mall.’ So we go to Nordstrom and I said, ‘You see anything you like?’ ‘No, no.’ So we look at the shoes, and [she says], ‘Oh, I like these sneakers.’”

Seeing the happy look on Mavis’s face when she found a pair of shoes she liked elated Leno. So much so, People reports that he encouraged Mavis to pick out another pair she liked.

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“I see she’s happy, and I said, ‘This is great.’ So I got two pairs of sneakers, and [the cashier says] ‘That’s $24. And the other pair, that’s $847,’” he continued.

“I go, ‘No, I only had two pairs of sneakers. I thought these were $24.’ [The cashier] goes, ‘Yeah, these are $24. But the other ones were [designer sneakers]. It looked like the guy took a pair of the same sneakers and used a bedazzler on them, and they were $800,” Leno joked.

“I look at my wife and said, ‘You like these?’ I go, ‘Honey, you look great.’”

Leno said he ultimately paid the bill, adding that he’s “glad I can afford this and it made my wife happy. It just made me laugh. Just typical.”

“I thought the $24 pair looked better than those, but that’s OK. It just made me laugh, and I think when you’re dealing with this kind of thing,” referring to Mavis’s battle with dementia, “you find your moments where you can have a laugh and have fun, and my wife really likes them and felt good about it.”

“So the fact that it was the same pair of sneakers that got hit with a bedazzler, I guess that’s fine. But it just made me laugh, and that’s pretty much what it is,” he told People.

Leno was granted conservatorship over Mavis in April 2024.

At the time, Mavis’ lawyers confirmed that they were “in agreement” with Leno’s move to become Mavis’ conservator, adding that she is “receiving excellent care with her husband, Mr. Leno.”

The judge agreed, saying, “I think she’s in the least restrictive environment. I think she’s in very good care with Mr. Leno.” As People reports, the judge then directed his statements at Leno.

“Everything you’re doing is right,” the judge told Leno. “I totally understand this is a difficult period.”

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In a 2014 interview with The Washington Post where Mavis opened up about her decision to not have any children, she called Leno the  “the single kindest human being I ever met.”

“People say marriage is difficult,” Leno shared while at Feminist Majority Foundation’s 16th Annual Global Women’s Rights Awards Gala in May 2024.

“I don’t get it. I enjoy her company. I enjoy taking care of her. We have fun. She’s the most independent woman I ever knew. Again, I just couldn’t be prouder of her.”