Vanna White has been turning tiles for 42 years, but will the Wheel of Fortune star stick it out much longer?
The 67-year-old TV legend is gearing up to say goodbye to her longtime co-host, Pat Sajak, when he officially retires later this month.
Ahead of taping her last show with Pat, Vanna opened up to TV Insider about her future on the popular weeknight game show.
During her chat with the outlet, Vanna revealed how long she intends to “stick around” at Wheel of Fortune.
“I don’t know,” Vanna admitted. “When I heard that Pat was retiring, I thought maybe I should retire too. But I’m not ready!”
“We’ll see toward the end of those two years how I feel. I thank God after all these years that I still love my job,” she added.
Vanna White never imagined her job on Wheel of Fortune would turn into a 40-year-plus career
As it turns out, Vanna never imagined that her job as the co-host and tile-turner at Wheel of Fortune would turn into a career for her.
“I never would have thought that this would turn into a 40-plus-year job,” revealed Vanna.
“I’m happy that I am myself [on the show]. I don’t play a character. I am who I am. It’s a fun show that everybody of all ages enjoys. We give money away!”
With Pat’s retirement quickly approaching, Vanna admits that her emotions are all over the place.
“I can’t describe how I feel. I feel happy for him,” Vanna shared of Pat’s impending retirement.
She added that working with Pat for 41 years has been like “reading a good book.”
“It always has to end,” Vanna told the publication. “This has been the best book I’ve ever read.”
Vanna and Pat have shared plenty of milestone moments over the years, both on and off-camera.
Vanna gushes over her relationship with co-host and ‘teacher’ Pat Sajak
As Vanna shared, she and Pat have watched each other’s kids grow up, traveled around the world, and filmed 8,000 episodes of Wheel of Fortune together, forming an unbreakable bond.
Vanna says she loves Pat “like a brother,” and they will be “friends forever.”
Although Vanna is a seasoned pro turning tiles on the set of Wheel of Fortune, her early days weren’t as seamless.
Vanna shared that on her first day on the set, she was so nervous that she could barely speak, and she began shaking, finding it hard to believe that she had landed a gig on national television.
Despite her trepidation, Pat helped her work through her nerves and reassured her that everything was going to be “OK.”
“[Pat] made me feel comfortable in front of a camera,” Vanna said of her trusty sidekick. “He was my teacher.”