Alex Trebek's Wife Jean Opens up About Grieving the 'Jeopardy!' Host in First Interview Since His Death

Alex Trebek's wife Jean recently sat down for her first interview since the late Jeopardy! host's death and she opened up about how she has been handling the grief. On Saturday, NBC will air Inspiring America: The 2021 Inspiration List, a special about those who were most inspiring over the past year, which Trebek will be prominently featured on. The special is hosted by Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, and on Wednesday the journalist shared an excerpt of her interview with Jean on the morning news show.

At one point, Guthrie asks Jean how she has been doing since her husband's passing. "I think right now, talking with you, I'm good. You know? I'm good," she said. "I absolutely have moments of waves of grief that just come over me. I miss him a lot." Jean also shared how special it was to see such a massive show of support from Trebek's fans while he was fighting pancreatic cancer. "I think one of the beautiful things, the blessings that came, if you can call it a blessing, was that he got to really see the outpouring of love and admiration that he gave to the world."

She continued, "And some people just, you know, you don't see that while you're still embodied, you don't get to really witness all the love that people feel for you. And I know that was in and of itself a huge inspiration for Alex." Trebek died in November, at the age of 80, after battling the illness for more than a year.

Jean also offered her thoughts on Trebek's powerful impact on the public, which manifested in how much he is widely considered an inspiring figure. "I think that is one of Alex's gifts was that he could be very resolute and know that the truth will not hurt you and he wanted to empower people to move through whatever challenge they had in life with a sense of inner strength, inner dignity and love, and love," she said. Notably, Trebek gave literal gifts in his death, as a portion of his wardrobe was donated to The Doe Fund, a non-profit organization that helps the unhoused, formerly incarcerated, and those in substance abuse recovery as they reenter the job market.

Following Trebek's death, Jean issued a statement thanking his fans for their support. "My family and I sincerely thank you all for your compassionate messages and generosity," she wrote. "Your expressions have truly touched our hearts. Thank you so very, very much." America: The 2021 Inspiration List airs Saturday at 8 pm. ET on NBC.