Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak is known for his long-lasting tenure on television, but behind the scenes, his family life is equally as established.
When Pat isn’t busy hosting Wheel of Fortune, he has plenty to keep him busy between his wife and two kids.
Pat Sajak, 77, and his wife, Lesly Brown, 59, have been married since 1989.
The couple of 35 years share two children: a daughter named Maggie and a son named Patrick.
Pat and Lesly met in 1988 through mutual friends, and by the following year, they were engaged and married four months later on New Year’s Eve in 1989.
Lesly, a native of Maryland, is a former model who was featured in Playboy.
It took some time for sparks to fly between Pat Sajak and his wife, Lesly Brown
Despite their 19-year age gap, the couple hit it off, although there weren’t sparks from the get-go.
“There was no electricity in the air,” Pat admitted during a 1990 interview with PEOPLE.
But over time, their fondness for each other grew.
Lesly told PEOPLE of Pat, “He was fun and easy to talk to. But it wasn’t romantic.”
So, what solidified Pat’s decision to ask Lesly to become his wife? Apparently, jealousy.
Lesly appeared on a reality show, The Dating Show, and went on a trip to Mexico with a bachelor who chose her.
“Frankly, I was a little annoyed at that,” Pat admitted to PEOPLE. “
Lesly added that Pat’s “borderline jealousy” was a good thing because it helped him realize how serious he was about her.
Pat recalled, “I knew she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.”
After a brief engagement, Pat and Lesly tied the knot in front of their friends and family members at a Catholic church in Annapolis, Maryland, and finished off the evening with a reception held at Lesly’s parents’ house.
Pat’s kids, Patrick and Maggie
Pat and Lesly expanded their family with the birth of their first child, their son Patrick Michael James Sajak, in 1990.
Patrick graduated from the University of Maryland, earning his medical degree in 2021, and currently practices Family Medicine at WellSpan York Hospital in York, Pennsylvania.
Pat gave Patrick a shoutout during an episode of Wheel of Fortune following his graduation.
Pat asked his co-host, Vanna White, “So, do you mind if I do a little parental bragging here?”
“So you know my son Patrick?” Pat continued. “You’ve known him all of his life. He’s made it through medical school, and he’s now officially Dr. Sajak, and we are very thrilled about that.”
Pat and Lesly further expanded their family in 1995 when they welcomed their second child, daughter Maggie Marie Sajak.
Maggie currently works alongside her father as Wheel of Fortune’s Social Correspondent and is also a graduate of Princeton University.
Maggie has also finished a postgraduate program at Columbia University, and she recently graduated from Georgetown University Law School.
Maggie — who also writes and sings country music — calls her Wheel of Fortune colleagues her “extended family” and admits she’s “thrilled” to be working with them.
“It’s a real privilege to be able to treat the show’s longtime viewers to a look at what goes on when the cameras aren’t rolling,” Maggie states on Wheel of Fortune’s website. “Plus, I get to use the carpool lane with my father!”