‘Jeopardy!’ Host Alex Trebek Wishes He Had Married Wife Earlier

Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek revealed this week that he is battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and he’s now focused on spending his time with his loved ones, including his wife, Jean.

Trebek and Jean married in 1990, and the host told PEOPLE in January that he wishes he met his other half earlier in life.

“I’m pretty satisfied with my life,” Trebek reflected. “But my wife Jean and I have been together almost 29 years, and I was thinking about President Bush when he died, and all the comments about his life about what a nice guy he is, and how he and his wife had been together 73 years. I thought, oh my gosh…if I’d just met Jean in my 20s we could have had a longer life together.”

Trebek is 78 and Jean is 54, with the host joking, “I guess if I’d met her when I was in my 20s she wouldn’t have been born yet. But hey, 29 years is pretty good!”

Jean shared that when they met, she was worried about their age difference, but she was ultimately attracted to Trebek in a way she knew she couldn’t ignore.

“There was just this deep sensitivity about him with a gruffy exterior,” she recalled. “I kept thinking, ‘He’s 24 years older than me’…but there was something that just kept drawing me to him.”

Now, the couple spends their time together at home, with Trebek sharing that he spends his down time reading and tinkering around the house, often watching movies with Jean in bed after dinner. While the pair has created a blissful life for themselves, Jean admitted that they’re just like every other couple who has to work through issues.

“We have our challenges,” she said, “And then we have our really beautiful times, where we’re just so blessed to know that we’re in each other’s courtyard.”

Trebek announced on March 6 that he is battling cancer, sharing the news on the set of Jeopardy!.

“Just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” he said. “Now normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I’m going to fight this, and I’m going to keep working. And with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disease.”

Trebek will continue hosting Jeopardy!, joking in his announcement that he’s legally bound to do so.

“Truth told, I have to!” he said of hosting the game show. “Because under the terms of my contract, I have to host Jeopardy! for three more years! So help me. Keep the faith and we’ll win. We’ll get it done. Thank you.”

In addition to Jean, Trebek is supported by his two children, Matthew, 29, and Emily, 27.

Photo Credit: Getty / Michael Kovac