Pat Sajak spoke about his future on Wheel of Fortune in an interview with Good Morning America. This followed a health scare he had last month.
Sajak hinted that his days as host of the hit game show could be numbered.
In his first interview since undergoing emergency surgery for a blocked intestine that caused his blood pressure to plummet, Sajak got real about the life-changing ordeal. A horrific pain in his stomach led the game show host to the hospital — where he was rushed into surgery.
"Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak is recovering from emergency surgery to correct a blocked intestine, according to a post from the game show's Twitter account. @dianermacedo has the latest. https://t.co/4lPMg9cSLp pic.twitter.com/XCtnMCkxeu
— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 9, 2019
The Wheel of Fortune icon revealed the pain was so severe that he felt like he was going to die. If doctors had not operated when they did, the outcome could have been extremely different.
Doctors are unsure of what caused his medical crisis. Thankfully, though, the surgery was successful and Sajak does not need to change a thing about his life.
Sajak is back at work doing a job he has loved since the game show premiered in 1982. He and Vanna White have been on Wheel of Fortune since day one. Their close friendship and longevity on the show are why she was more than happy to fill in as host.
White stepped in to host the game show in Sajak’s absence. He praised the job she did when he recovered, even joking he was a little nervous that White was gunning for his job. In all seriousness, the health scare, and White taking over as host, have Sajak thinking about his future on the game show.
“I’m not getting any younger — a couple of years. You know what I’m really sensitive about? I’d rather leave a couple of years too early than a couple of years too late. I don’t have a date in mind, but two, three years, something like that,” the 73-year-old shared on GMA.
.@ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: @WheelOfFortune host @PatSajak sits down with @paulafaris for his first interview since he had an emergency surgery after getting a “horrific pain” in his stomach due to an intestinal blockage. https://t.co/WLns0yptLe pic.twitter.com/VP13otplSc
— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 20, 2019
In the next two years, Sajak could leave his role as host for good. His recent health scare helped him come to the conclusion that retirement is coming sooner than he initially thought.
Fans shouldn’t fret over Sajak’s impending retirement, but rather enjoy him while he is still hosting. After all, he doesn’t even know precisely when he will exit the iconic game show.