Jay Leno made headlines when he was involved in two terrifying accidents just two months apart – but despite the horrific ordeal, he's happy he got a "better" face out of it.
The former Tonight Show host, 74, sustained burns to his face, arms, and hands in a garage fire in November 2022 before he fell off one of his motorcycles and suffered from several broken bones in January 2023.
Following the fire, Jay underwent extensive surgery and reconstruction work to get a "brand new face", which he recently joked looks better than his old one.
© Getty Images"My recovery was nine days. I missed two days of work, so it was not bad," he told E! at the 2024 Daytime Beauty Awards on September 30. "Better than the face I had, so I'll take it."
At the ceremony, Jay honored his surgeon, Dr. Peter Grossman, with the Outstanding Achievement in Medicine Award, and recalled his visit to the Grossman Burn Center after he "got a face full of gasoline and caught on fire".
However, despite his injuries, the TV star quickly returned home after realizing his wife Mavis, who has dementia, didn't know where he was.
"I drive home, I see my wife and I go to sleep, not realizing this is still burning," he shared.
© Getty Images"When I wake up, I can't get the pillow off my face. So, I'm sitting there with scissors trying to cut the pillow off. So, Dr. Grossman took the pillow off my face."
Although his facial surgery was a success, Jay 'tore his face' two months later after he crashed his motorcycle, which also resulted in a broken collarbone, two broken ribs, and two cracked kneecaps.
"I'm riding my motorcycle, and a guy had a wire across the road, and boom, it tore my face," he recalled to the crowd.
© Getty Images"I called Dr. Grossman, and I said, 'Listen, I need another face. The other face you got was great, but I just need another,'" he adding before joking: "So I guess I am officially a two-faced [expletive] now."
Despite Jay's "significant" burn, he healed "very well" from the procedure, according to Dr. Grossman.
© Getty Images"The biggest challenge with dealing with Jay Leno was that the entire world was watching as it was happening," the board-certified plastic surgeon told E!. "And that's a little bit of added pressure in a field that already has a lot of pressure to it."
He added: "But, probably the greatest part is learning the type of individual that Jay was. Jay is kind, he's generous and he is as down to earth as you can imagine, and just a genuinely good person and has become, for me, a role model."
© Getty ImagesSharing an update on his life, Jay teased that he hoped his "next chapter" doesn't include his "next accident".
He said: "It's good. Things are good. I can't complain. I just write jokes, tell jokes, get checked. Very simple process."
© Getty ImagesJay also credited his wife for helping to him feel "very happy" in his life.
"I've been very lucky. I've been married to the same woman 45 years," he shared, adding that the secret to a long-lasting relationship is "don't screw around—pretty simple".
