Jay Leno gets a kick out of wife's $847 sneakers: 'Find your moments where you can have a laugh'

Jay Leno isn’t keen connected a brace of bedazzled $847 sneakers helium bought. But if they marque his woman happy, they marque him happy.

The erstwhile “Tonight Show” big elaborate a caller buying travel with woman Mavis, who is battling advanced dementia, and said that helium tries “to find wit successful this situation.”

The “situation” refers to to the philanthropist’s declining cognitive state, which prompted Leno to file for a conservatorship aboriginal past twelvemonth to oversee his wife’s affairs. In providing the latest update connected Mavis’ condition, the stand-up drama fable employed his signature wit.

The “Midas Man” actor said successful a caller interrogation with People that to cheer up his woman 1 day, helium took her buying astatine Nordstrom.

Mavis, 78, picked retired a brace of agleam bluish sneakers that were $24. Then Leno encouraged her to prime retired different pair. This clip she decided connected a red-and-white brace that “made her happy.”

“[The cashier says] ‘That’s $24. And the different pair, that’s $847,’” helium said. “I go, ‘No, I lone had 2 pairs of sneakers. I thought these were $24.’ [The cashier] goes, ‘Yeah, these are $24. But the different ones were [designer sneakers]. It looked similar the feline took a brace of the aforesaid sneakers and utilized a bedazzler connected them, and they were $800. I look astatine my woman and said, ‘You similar these?’ I go, ‘Honey, you look great.’”

Despite the eye-popping terms tag connected the second pair, Leno said helium was gladsome helium could spend the footwear contempt the sticker shock. And it gave him a bully laugh.

“Just emblematic ... ,” helium said. “When you’re dealing with this benignant of thing, you find your moments wherever you tin person a laughter and person fun, and my woman truly likes them and felt bully astir it.”

Jay and Mavis Leno person been joined for much than 40 years. In January 2024, the “Jay Leno’s Garage” host sought conservatorship of her property truthful helium could operation a surviving spot and different property plans to marque definite that Mavis has “managed assets capable to supply for her care” should helium dice earlier her. Leno’s petition besides said Mavis had been “progressively losing capableness and orientation to abstraction and clip for respective years.”

According to documents filed successful Los Angeles County Superior Court past spring, Mavis Leno’s court-appointed lawyer said that during his probe into Jay Leno’s effort to beryllium a imperishable conservator, helium learned that Mavis has “major neurocognitive disorders,” cognitive impairment and “sometimes does not cognize her husband, Jay, nor her day of birth.” It is unclear erstwhile Mavis was diagnosed, but the documents said that she was being treated for advanced dementia and a temper disorder.

In precocious April, Mavis Leno joined her husband astatine the premiere of the Netflix movie “Unfrosted” and said that she feels great: “We person a large time. Forty-four years [married], truthful we’re doing good.”

A fewer weeks later, Jay Leno, a two-time Emmy Award winner, said marrying Mavis was his top achievement and “the smartest happening I’ve ever done.”

“I americium portion of her bequest and that’s what I’m proudest of,” Leno said astatine the Feminist Majority Foundation’s 16th Global Women’s Rights Awards Gala, wherever helium presented the inaugural Mavis Leno Award for Global Women’s Rights. The grant is dedicated to the philanthropist for her Nobel Prize-nominated work arsenic seat of the nonprofit’s Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls.

Times unit writer Meg James and chap Malia Mendez contributed to this report.