Alex Trebek says he is satisfied with his life but he has ONE regret - not meeting the love of his life sooner.
Editor's note: This article was first published on October 18, 2019.
It is sad how we try to bind every good thing, mostly love, in the shackles of moral values. There are some of us who dare to live their lives on their own terms and make their own values, but only a few of them succeed in doing that. Alex Trebek and Jean Currivan's story is for the ones who believe in the magic of love and refuse to be deprived of any good thing that life has to offer.
We all love to say that "age is just a number," but this Hollywood couple proved it and how. The longtime host of the game show Jeopardy! exchanged vows with Jean Currivan, 54, in 1990 after courting her for two years. They have been the epitome of togetherness and companionship ever since. But now, after the renowned game show host revealed that he is battling stage IV pancreatic cancer, he says he regrets not meeting his wife earlier in life.
In an interview with PEOPLE, the 78-year-old confesses, "I'm pretty satisfied with my life." However, thinking about death made him realize that they could have been together longer but destiny has its own schemes.
"But my wife Jean and I have been together almost 29 years, and I was thinking about President Bush when he died, and all the comments about his life about what a nice guy he is, and how he and his wife had been together 73 years. I thought, oh my gosh… if I'd just met Jean in my 20s we could have had a longer life together," he adds.
He quips jokingly, "I guess if I’d met her when I was in my 20s she wouldn't have been born yet. But hey, 29 years is pretty good!" The unconventional couple never let judgments and criticisms add bitterness in their relationship which not only nurtured them and their family but also inspired their admirers to not hold back when in love. Losing yourself in love is the only way to find the destination.
Trebek spoke about their massive age gap in a 1990 interview with PEOPLE, which shows how determined he was to make his relationship with Jean work, "At first it worried me," Trebek shared. "But then I thought, 'The hell with it. We'll make it work.'"
As Trebek puts it, Jean has been more than understanding and supportive of him, "I can understand why he was cautious about being with a younger woman,” said Jean. “So I didn’t try to push him. We just took it one day at a time."
Jean revealed that their relationship that would eventually go on to inspire millions, started as a friendship. But she admits that there was something about him that drew her to him and she couldn't deny it. "There was just this deep sensitivity about him with a gruffy exterior," she says. "I kept thinking, he's 24 years older than me but there was something that just kept drawing me to him."
But what's that one thing that keeps her drawn to him?
"He's got a great sense of humor," she says. "He takes his job very seriously, but won't take himself too seriously." He's also youthful. "He's just an intelligent human being," Jean says. "Part of Alex's staying youthful is his staying curious."
The couple that has been married for almost three decades now, are proud parents of two children, Matthew, 29, a restaurateur and Emily, 27, who works in real estate in Los Angeles. "They’re really sharp, and have done their due diligence in their respective endeavors," Trebek says of their children. Jean adds, "They're both very compassionate, sensitive people. They're really the best of Alex and I. You can talk to them. They're our good friends," reports PEOPLE.
Great love stories aren't perfect by default, they are made perfect by constant work and dedication towards one another even when parting ways seems like the easiest option. Jean confessed that they have had their hard times but at the end of the day, only togetherness matters.
"We have our challenges," she says. "And then we have our really beautiful times, where we're just so blessed to know that we're in each other's courtyard."
References:
https://people.com/tv/jeopardy-alex-trebeks-sweet-love-story/
https://people.com/tv/alex-trebek-wife-relationship-photos/?slide=6958568#6958568
