Jay Leno and his wife of nearly 44 years, Mavis Nicholson Leno, are updating fans following her dementia diagnosis. Three weeks after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge granted the former Tonight Show host, 74, conservatorship of their joint estate amid Mavis’ diagnosis, the couple enjoyed a star-studded date night at the Hollywood premiere of Netflix film Unfrosted on Tuesday.
“I feel great, yeah,” Mavis, 77, told Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet. Leno added of the outing, “thought I’d come to something fun for a change. Everything is so controversial. Just to come to a funny, silly movie – it’s great. I think people will have a great time.” The two-time Emmy winner and the Feminist Majority Foundation board member met in 1976 while he was performing at the Comedy Store in West Hollywood. They tied the knot in 1980. Reflecting on their relationship, Leno told ET, “well, we hang out every day. We have a great time. 44 years! So we’re doing good.”
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Mavis’ dementia diagnosis was revealed in January when Leno filed for conservatorship of their joint estate. The petition, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, said that Mavis “has been progressively losing capacity and orientation to space and time for several years,” adding that “her current condition renders her incapable of executing the estate plan.”
In a report filed in late February by Mavis’ court-appointed counsel, Ronald Ostrin, and obtained by PEOPLE, it was revealed that Mavis “sometimes does not know her husband, Jay, nor her date of birth” and “has a lot of disorientation, will ruminate about her parents who have both passed and her mother who died about 20 years ago.” The documents also stated that the petition was supported by Mavis’ neurologist, Dr. Hart Cohen, who said Leno is “such a nice man and treats [Mavis] like gold.” Ostrin added that Mavis considers Leno “her protector and she trusts him.”
In early April, a judge granted Leno the conservatorship during a hearing at Los Angeles County Superior Court, where Mavis’ lawyer said she was “in agreement” with the conservatorship and was “receiving excellent care with her husband, Mr. Leno.” At the time, Leno said he was in the process of estate planning and looking at his wife’s will.
The couple have mostly kept out of the spotlight in the weeks since Leno filed for the estate conservatorship, but they were photographed together on April 3 as they stepped out for Leno’s stand-up show at the Hollywood Improv comedy club in WeHo.