Vanna White says it is ‘depressing’ thinking about the end of her and Pat Sajak’s Wheel Of Fortune
After 40 years on the Wheel of Fortune, Vanna White isn’t ready to say goodbye to the show that made her a household name.
“We’ve been in everyone’s houses for 40 years, so it would be weird if someone else delivered my letters,” White said. PEOPLE on Monday.
The television personality, who has appeared on the long-running game show since it premiered in 1975, has co-hosted with Pat Sajak since 1981.
Long Running: Wheel of Fortune hosts Vanna White and Pat Sajak have discussed how their 4-decade run at the helm of the iconic game show could soon be coming to an end.
Vanna said: “I think when Merv Griffin cast the two of us, 40 and 41 years ago, he saw something between us: a brother-sister kind of relationship.”
She added: ‘And I think that’s what it is. She saw that we could get along, and we do. We are like a team of brothers and sisters.
In September, Wheel of Fortune host Sajak said eastern time online that his 41-year run at the helm of the iconic game show could soon be coming to an end.
“It looks like I can go before the show,” he said, revealed Sajak, who has been spinning the wheel for more than four decades.
Together until the end: The two co-hosts have discussed their eventual departure from the show, with Sajak saying, “We’ll probably be leaving at sunset at the same time.” The duo pictured at the Wheel of Fortune 35th Anniversary on October 10, 2017 in Orlando, Florida.
‘It’s an honor to have been in people’s living rooms for so long. People were out there welcoming us. We are happy and proud.
The TV icon, who recently turned 76, said: “On most TV shows right now, you would have said, ‘That’s probably enough,’ but this show won’t die.”
His daughter Maggie, 27, celebrated Sajak’s four decades as host of the show last December with an affectionate snapshot of the happy hostess looking dapper with brunette locks.
Throwback: The beloved TV personality began hosting the show in 1981 when it first aired on network daytime TV; Pictured with co-anchor Vanna White, 64, in 1983
Iconic: The TV star, who hosts the show alongside beloved bombshell Vanna White, will turn 76 next month
Time for a change: The TV icon, who hosts the show alongside beloved bombshell Vanna White, revealed that “the end is near.”
This comes after Pat echoed similar retirement sentiments in September of last year when he shared candidly with entertainment tonight that, ‘Certainly we are nearer the end than the beginning. I’d like to leave before people tune in and look at me and go, “Ooh, what happened to him?”
Sajak’s 40-year attendance record with Wheel of Fortune is near flawless, with the dedicated host only missing the taping for three weeks in November 2019 to undergo emergency bowel surgery.
While Sajak was recovering, White, 65, stepped in to take over hosting duties.
“We’ve been together for 38 years and he’s like my brother,” White told ET in 2021.
‘He is funny. I mean, we could finish each other’s sentences if we wanted to. We know each other very well.
The Wheel: Approximately 26 million viewers tune into Wheel of Fortune every week
Survivor: The host went down memory lane in the nostalgic tweet, pointing out other long-running shows that started around the same time as Wheel Of Fortune
Last January, Sajak said access to hollywood‘We’ll probably walk away at sunset at the same time.’
And while talking to entertainment tonight In September, Sajak revealed that he would like to leave the stage in the next 10 years.
We are certainly closer to the end than to the beginning. I’d like to leave before people tune in and look at me and go, “Ooh, what happened to him?” I wouldn’t bet on seeing each other in about 10 years, I’d say.
Four decades of fortune: The show has awarded around $250 million in cash and prizes since its inception