Jay Leno on Caring for His Wife Amid Her Dementia Battle: ‘That’s Really What Love Is’

The former late-night TV host and his wife, Mavis, have been married since 1980.

Jay Leno and his wife, Mavis Leno, attend the Feminist Majority Foundation's Fifth annual Global Women's Rights Gala in Beverly Hills, Calif., on April 29, 2009. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Former late-night TV host Jay Leno has shared insight into his new role as a caretaker, a little more than a year after being granted conservatorship over the estate of his wife, Mavis Leno, amid her ongoing battle with advanced dementia.

“I think that’s really what defines a marriage,” Jay Leno, 74, said during an April 23 episode of “In Depth With Graham Bensinger.”