Ahead of Pat Sajak’s retirement from Wheel of Fortune, Vana White has revealed her future plans with the show.
“I don’t know. When I heard Pat was retiring I thought maybe I should retire too, but I’m not ready yet!” she said. He told TV Insider.
White, 67, has been with the show since 1982. She signed a contract extension that will keep her on the show through the 2025-2026 season, ostensibly meaning she will join the show when Ryan Seacrest, 49, replaces Sajak in the fall.
But, she added, “I’ll know how I feel in two years. I thank God that after all these years I still love my job.”
White added, “Words can’t express how I feel. I’m happy for him. After 41 years, I can’t imagine continuing the show without him. It’s like reading a good book; there’s always an ending. This is the best book I’ve ever read.”
Sajak, 77, who has been with the show since 1981, announced he will retire in June 2023.
“Well, the time has come,” he said. TweetedHe said he plans to leave the show at the end of the currently airing season of the hit NBC show.
“I have decided that the 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last.”
He added: “It’s been an amazing journey and I’ll be saying more in the coming months. A massive thank you to all of you (at the very least, it will keep the clickbait sites busy!).”
“I never thought this would be a job I’d do for 40-plus years,” White said. “I love being myself. I’m not playing a character. I’m being me. It’s a fun show for all ages. And we’re donating money!”
White also thanked Sajak for helping him get through what was a nerve-wracking first day on the job.
“(He) said, ‘Calm down, it’s going to be OK.’ I’m just a little girl from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and I’ve wanted to be on TV since I was 10 years old,” she said.
Sajak is known for his often harsh and brutally honest approach to contestants, a far cry from his affable demeanor, but he credited White with making him “relax” in front of the camera.
“He was my teacher,” she added.
She added that it would be difficult to conceive the show without Sajak.
“I can’t imagine it. Everybody associates ‘Wheel of Fortune’ with Pat and Vanna. We’re like Ken and Barbie, you know?” she said.
Sajak’s final episode of “Wheel of Fortune” will air on June 7.
