Jean Trebek takes her vows seriously as she stands by her husband while he fights for his health and more years with her.
Watching a loved one struggle with cancer while not being able to take away their pain is just as hard for you. And for months now, Jeopardy! host, Alex Trebek has been fighting an exhausting battle against stage 4 pancreatic cancer, something that has been just as hard on his wife of 30 years, Jean Currivan Trebek. She opens up about what is the most difficult thing she has to experience as she witnesses her beloved's fight for his life and health and it's something we all feel when we watch someone we love struggle.
During a recent interview with Good Morning America, she talks about the hardest thing they have to deal with as a couple during the cancer treatments, according to USA Today. “For me, it’s when I see him in pain and I can’t help him,” she said. “When he doesn’t eat right. When he has too much diet soda.”
When asked if she'd ever requested her 79-year-young husband if he should take a step back and focus on his health for the time being, she replied, “Yes, to my girlfriends, yes. But I know its what feeds him. He loves doing Jeopardy!. He has his own family over there. They are such a close-knit, beautiful group of people. I think that gives him a lot of support. A sense of purpose and that he’s just not in bed and can be productive.” And it is this support that she provides that proves the two of them have a truly strong relationship.
But it's not like Trebek is unaware of how much pressure his wife is under. He told GMA, "It’s always tough for caretakers because she has to deal with her worrying about my well-being and also dealing with… I’m not always the most pleasant person to be around when I’m experiencing severe pain or depression, and she has to tread lightly around me." And this is not the first time he's spoken about how much her steadfastness has helped him.
Speaking to People in 2019, he said, “Jeannie is wonderful. She cried, of course, this morning when she got the [good] news [about my tumors shrinking]. But it’s been a lot. It’s a lot of pressure.” “My heart goes out to caregivers,” he added. “Because they have to deal with their loved ones suffering and they also don’t always know how to help because there’s not much they can do, except try to make you feel more comfortable, at ease and not worry about ordinary stuff. They’ve also got to be strong and not allow their mate not to feel like they’re downhearted too.”
Well, it seems like he truly found his soulmate, the one who would never let him fall and they've been together ever since they married in 1990. In fact, the only regret he has when it comes to her is not meeting her earlier. In another interview with People, he said, “I’m pretty satisfied with my life. 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."
Here's to hoping that he does win this health battle and gets to achieve that long life with her that he hoped for.
References:
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/jeopardy-host-alex-trebek-outpouring-support-cancer-battle-67765903
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/12/30/alex-trebek-wife-talks-toughest-part-of-cancer/2774149001/
https://people.com/health/alex-trebek-cancer-journey-eased-by-wife-jean/
https://people.com/tv/jeopardy-alex-trebeks-sweet-love-story/
