Entertainment
Margaret Cho Emotionally Recalls Seeing Jay Leno & His Wife Mavis Amid Dementia Battle
“The romance of that… That’s love,” the comedian said tearfully, while sharing a moving interaction between Leno and his wife Mavis, who has dementia.
Margaret Cho is opening up about a touching interaction she saw with Jay Leno and his wife Mavis.
On Wednesday, the comedian shared a TikTok video, in which she became emotional as she recalled watching a recent encounter with Leno and Mavis, who struggles with dementia, sharing that The Tonight Show alum’s treatment of his wife amid her health battle was the ultimate expression of true love and romance.
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“A little while ago, I was in a comedy club, and I was doing a show with Jay Leno,” Cho, 56, began. “And he brought his wife Mavis, who has dementia.”
“We were in the green room, and I had my dog. Mavis wanted to say hi to my dog, so I brought my dog over, and Jay was leaning down and just kind of whispering in her ear,” she continued. “Kind of just saying things like, ‘Oh, do you want to say hi to the dog?’ Understanding that she had some difficulty with what was going on in the room, and a little bit of confusion. He was getting ahead of it by really quietly leaning over and just explaining to her what was happening.”
The Fire Island star then got choked up while reflecting on the touching interaction.
“The romance of that… That’s love,” Cho said. “We always see these big, grand expressions of love on social media where people are taking you on these whirlwind vacations and going on a yacht or going to Paris or whatever. It’s like all this s–t.”
“That’s love. Like, that’s a man. … [He’s] taking you out to the comedy club, and bringing you around,” she continued. “I’m sure it could be so easy to put somebody [who] has dementia in a facility or put them at home when you can just go out. But he’s bringing her around, and whenever she’s having a moment, he just leans down and explains what’s going on. And it’s just like, to me, that’s romance. May that love find me. How beautiful.”
“What a man,” Cho said as she ended her video.
Cho’s video comes a year after Leno was granted conservatorship of his and Mavis’ joint estate amid her battle with dementia in April 2024.
A little over a week before he was granted the conservatorship, Mavis’ lawyer shared details about the severity of Mavis’ condition, revealing that she sometimes doesn’t recognize Jay or remember her birthday, as shown in court docs obtained by TMZ.
A neurologist also discussed Mavis’ condition, noting that she has “advanced dementia,” and often gets disoriented.
Leno filed for the conservatorship so his wife would be financially protected in case he dies before she does.
“Estate planning is something that most everyone needs, but by the time you need it, if you don’t have it, it is too late to get it,” his lawyer said in the docs, per TMZ. “This Petition is designed to give Mavis that protection with the protection of Court supervision.”
Leno and Mavis have been married since 1980.
