Photo: Ricky Middlesworth/ABC via Getty
Vanna Whiteis reacting toPat Sajak’sdeparture fromWheel of Fortune.
After over 40 years, Sajak, 76, and White, 66, will no longer appear together on our screens. Sajak isretiring after 41 seasonson the game show, and White expressed how much she will miss him in atweeton Tuesday.
“When we started @WheelofFortune who could have imagined we’d still be at it 41 seasons later? I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come,” White wrote.
“Cheers to you, @patsajak!” she added.
On Monday, Sajakannounced he would be leaving the show, which he began hosting in 1981.
“Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last,” he shared on Twitter. “It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)”
He isn’t going too far, though. In a statement to PEOPLE, Suzanne Prete, the EVP of Game Shows at Sony Pictures Television, confirmed Sajak’s upcoming retirement, but also noted that he would serve as a consultant on the series for the next three years.
“As the host ofWheel of Fortune, Pat has entertained millions of viewers across America for 40 amazing years,” Prete said. “We are incredibly grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host for all these years and we look forward to celebrating his outstanding career throughout the upcoming season. Pat has agreed to continue as a consultant on the show for three years following his last year hosting, so we’re thrilled to have him remaining close to theWheel of Fortunefamily!”
The television personality previously hinted at his departure, saying in September that“the end is near.”
“It appears I may go before the show,” he added.
In December, Sajak celebrated his 40-year hosting anniversary with atribute from his daughter, Maggie. “Happy 40th Wheel-iversary to this guy!” she tweeted alongside a throwback of her father hosting the series. “On this day in 1981, @patsajak hosted his very first episode of @WheelofFortune… and the rest is history!”
White also posted to herInstagramto commemorate the day, writing, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but 40 years ago today I taped my first episode of @wheeloffortune.”
She continued: “It’s been a wonderful 40 years, too! I’m so grateful to those of you who watch and everyone behind the scenes who make us look good. We wouldn’t still be here without all of you! (And the cake was delicious!)”
As for White, shetold PEOPLE in Decembershe wasn’t ready to think about leavingWheel of Fortunebehind.
“I don’t even want to think about that. I mean, we’re a team,” she said at the time. “That’s depressing. I don’t even want to think about it.”
But White also has “no idea” whether the show will continue on without them, adding, “I can’t imagine. Everybody relates Wheel of Fortune to Pat and Vanna. We’re like Ken and Barbie, you know? We’ve been in everybody’s homes for 40 years, so it would be weird having somebody else turn my letters.”
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Wheel of Fortuneairs weekday evenings (check local listings).
source: people.com
