Jimmy Kimmel & Wife Molly McNearney Address How Much Longer He'll Be a Late Night Host

Jimmy Kimmel and wife Molly McNearney are talking future plans.

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host and his wife and executive producer sat down with THR to discuss his upcoming Oscars hosting gig, as well as his future in late night TV.

During the conversation, he was asked about the “perpetual interest” in his retirement from the show, which he’s toyed with over the years in interviews, including fellow late night star Seth Meyers calling him the Tom Brady of late night.”

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“I think of myself more like the Cher of late night. (Laughs) I will say this, I’ve got to stop answering this question because whatever mood I’m in is the way I go, and then it upsets everyone that I work with,” he said.

“I go back and forth between approaching it from a personal point of view and a professional one. From a personal point of view, I looks at his lifestyle and say, ‘How much longer can you do this?’ I mean, it’s a grind. I don’t think anyone has any idea how much this man works,” Molly added. “He’s going from seven in the morning to well after 11, maybe midnight, most nights. It’s a real commitment and also it can start to take a psychological toll being responsible for digesting the news every day and then helping America understand it. So, from a personal point of view, I say, ‘That’s enough, let’s hang it up and maybe spend some more time with our kids.’”

“From a professional point of view, I say, ‘Why wouldn’t he keep going if he could?’ He’s really, really good at it. And I think we need his voice. He holds people accountable and he’s very funny,” she added.

“So, it’s really tricky for me, but ultimately he’ll make the right decision for him and for the show and I’ll be fully supportive of whatever he wants to do. I didn’t know he’d pick up this last contract. I mean, I did know, obviously I was part of the conversation, I didn’t learn from an article that you wrote, but he was definitely ready to be done this last time and then he changed his mind at the very last minute.”

“I got worked over is what happened,” Jimmy added.

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