The comedian has handled the couple’s finances throughout their 43-year marriage.
Months after Jay Leno filed for a conservatorship over the estate of Mavis Leno, his wife of four decades, Mavis’ attorney filed a new report that provides an update on her condition and her feelings regarding the proposed guardianship, which comes amidst the 77-year-old’s battle with dementia.
Mavis Leno suffering from dementia
Neither Jay nor Mavis have spoken publicly about the dementia diagnosis, but according to a petition filed in January in Los Angeles court, “Unfortunately, Mavis has been progressively losing capacity and orientation to space and time for several years.” According to Mavis’ physician, who was quoted in the court documents, she “suffers from dementia, major neurocognitive disorder.”
According to the petition, Mavis’ condition “renders her incapable of executing the estate plan.” For that reason, Jay has requested to be appointed conservator of her estate “in order to ensure her desires concerning the disposition of her assets upon her death are realized.” He also wants to create a trust to hold “each of his and Mavis’s one-half interest in their community property,” which would also ensure there are enough funds to cover Mavis’ medical care and provide for her brother, Rikki Nicholson, who lives next door to the couple. The couple does not have children.
Throughout their 43-year marriage, Jay has always handled the couple’s finances, according to the petition. “Jay is fully capable of continuing his support for Mavis’s physical and financial needs as he has throughout their marriage,” it adds.
Mavis Leno’s legal team provides updates
Court documents filed last week and recently obtained by PEOPLE shed new light on Mavis’ condition. Her court-appointed attorney, Ronald Ostrin, described her as “a delightful person” with “a charming personality” even while it “was clear she had cognitive impairment.”
Conservatorships have been facing public scrutiny ever since Britney Spears revealed the depths of the abusive arrangement she was subject to for 13 years, under the control of her father — but the new court filings are clear that Mavis consents to the conservatorship and “does not object” to it. Ostrin describes her and Jay’s relationship as “long-term, loving and supportive” and says she views him as “her protector and she trusts him”
Furthermore, Mavis’ neurologist, Dr. Hart Cohen, described the comedian as “a stand-up guy” and said he treats Mavis “like gold.”
How did Jay and Mavis Leno meet?
The comedian and former Tonight Show host met his wife in Los Angeles in the 1970s, after he performed at the Comedy Store. At the time, Mavis was writing comedy and was told by friends to visit the famous venue to network. In a 2014 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Mavis recalled that when she saw Jay perform, she thought, “Holy s—! That comedian is gorgeous!” They later ran into each other after the show — and the rest, as they say, is history.
Although Mavis told PEOPLE in 1987, “I always had this idea that I would never get married,” she eventually changed her tune and the pair tied the knot in 1980. As for what caused the change of heart? “With Jay, I began to realize that this was the first time I was ever with someone where I had a perfect, calm sense of having arrived at my destination,” she told the outlet. They had a small wedding on November 3, 1980, which is the same day as Jay’s parents’ anniversary.
In 2019, Leno shared the secret to a lasting marriage: “I always tell guys when they meet a woman, ‘Marry your conscience. Marry someone who’s the person you wish you could be and it works out okay.'”
