On Friday, January 26, Jay Leno made the heartbreaking decision to file a conservatorship for his wife of over 40 years, Mavis Leno.
The former Tonight Show host, 73, made the move in light of his wife's ongoing battle with dementia, which he hadn't previously addressed. In the paperwork, first obtained by TMZ, he stated the intention of the conservatorship is to assure Mavis, 77, has a living trust set up in the case that he dies.
Below, take a look back at the longtime couple's decades-long love story, from how they met, to all the peculiarities of their union.
Who is Jay Leno's wife?
Mavis was born Mavis Elizabeth Nicholson on September 5, 1946, in San Francisco, California, to dad Nick Nicholson, an actor and musician, and his wife Jane Torgler.
Since 1997, Mavis has been part of the board of directors of the Feminist Majority Foundation, and has led their Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan since then. Per the foundation's website, she has previously "testified and made numerous television and public appearances to urge the United States and the United Nations not to recognize the Taliban regime and to restore women's human rights in Afghanistan."
In 2009, she told the L.A. Times: "I promised the Afghan women that I am not one of those Americans who has no attention span, and as long as this situation persists, I will be in there. Tenacity isn't just the most important thing, it's the only thing."
© GettyHow did Jay Leno and his wife meet?
Jay and Mavis met in the 1970s at famed Los Angeles comedy club the Comedy Store, where the veteran television host was scheduled to do stand-up.
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They both made lasting impressions on each other. Mavis previously recalled to the L.A.Times seeing her future-husband and thinking: "Holy [expletive]! That comedian is gorgeous!" Plus, of their first interaction when she went back to the ladies room – right by where comedians would hang out at the club – she recalled: "I came out of the bathroom, he said, 'Are you that girl in front?' And I said, 'Yes, that was me.'"
© GettyUnexpected proposal and first moves
The couple's union was full of surprises from the start. Firstly, Mavis never thought she would get married; she explained to People in 1987: "It was a big thing with me, part of my vehement feminism. 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."
Jay was also likely unlike anyone she had ever met, which he proved early on in their relationship. The comedian has never been a drinker, and his wife still remembers him offering her $35 to go shopping instead of getting her a cocktail at the bar.
Their engagement was no less peculiar: rather than the traditional engagement ring, Jay proposed with an insurance plan for the couple. He also explained to the L.A. Times: "I had this insurance policy, and I thought if something happened to me, my girlfriend wouldn't be covered, but if we're married, we're covered, so… we might as well get married. Not the most romantic," and Mavis added: "He was going to get me [an engagement ring], but we had just bought a house, so why would I do that?"
© GettyDoes Jay Leno have kids?
Jay and Mavis never had kids together, which Mavis has said is something she decided on when she was a kid herself. In 2014, she told The Washington Post: "I remember telling my mother when I was 7 or 8 that I was never going to get married or have children."
Citing the 1955 sitcom The Honeymooners as an influence, she further explained: "I would see a young woman who was very attractive and a thousand times smarter, and she's living in this little tenement hovel with her husband," adding: "These men spend all their time talking about what a drag the wives are and asking how can they get away from them. It's perfectly obvious the women are the ones trapped."
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