Vanna White almost stepped away from Wheel of Fortune when her longtime co-star Pat Sajak announced his own retirement. Sajak, 76, announced back in June that the current season would be his last, but White, 66, opted to stay on through new host Ryan Seacrest’s first season in 2025. It wasn’t an easy decision, White told PEOPLE in a new interview.
“Of course it’s a thought,” White admitted. “It’s like, ‘Well, wait, if you’re leaving, what am I going to do? How can I stay without you?’ It was a very hard decision for me to make, because it definitely crossed my mind. It’s like, ‘I just don’t know if I can do this without you,’ but I thought about it and I’m not ready to retire, so I am staying on.”
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It will definitely be “different” when Seacrest, 48, takes over as Wheel of Fortune host, despite White’s affection for her new co-star. “I know Ryan – he is professional, he’s good at what he does, he’s kind,” she said. “I think it’s going to be good. He’s such a nice guy and he loves what he does. He said, ‘Look, I am not replacing Pat. I’m not going in to try to fill Pat’s shoes. No one can ever replace him.’ He says he’s coming in to do a good job and to keep the show going, and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
For now, White is focusing on “celebrating this year” and “all the memories” with Sajak as Wheel of Fortune marks his four decades as host. Saying goodbye will be “very sad,” White added, as she has such a deep history with Sajak and the two know “everything” about one another at this point. “Forty-one years together, you know each other so well,” she said. “It definitely is bittersweet, but he’s decided to retire and I have to accept that.”
One of White’s greatest accomplishments is “being on TV for so long and hopefully giving people a good feeling,” so she continues to look forward to what’s ahead. “There’s so much negative stuff out there,” she said. “I feel like I just want to give people a good feeling and if everybody could be at peace, and be happy, and be kind to each other, that’s been the most proudest for me being on TV, to be able to try to spread that good feeling.”
