Alex Trebek Sweetly Wishes He’d Met Wife Jean Much Earlier: ‘We Could Have Had a Longer Life Together’

There isn’t much that Alex Trebek wishes for. He’s had a solid career hosting Jeopardy! for 35 years, he has two wonderful kids and a beautiful wife that he’s been with for almost three decades. “I’m pretty satisfied with my life,” the 78-year-old candidly admitted in a new interview.

But there is one thing he would change if he could turn back time. “My wife Jean and I have been together almost 29 years, and I was thinking about President Bush when he died, and all the comments about his life about what a nice guy he is, and how he and his wife had been together 73 years. I thought, oh my gosh … if I’d just met Jean in my 20s we could have had a longer life together,” Alex told People.

“I guess if I’d met her when I was in my 20s she wouldn’t have been born yet. But hey, 29 years is pretty good!” Alex joked, referring to the 24-year age difference between himself and his wife Jean, 54.

Despite wishing he’d crossed paths with Jean earlier in life, things have worked out pretty well for the game show guru. The couple, who married in 1990, have two children, Matthew, 29, and Emily, 26, together. And even though Alex’s kids haven’t followed in his showbiz footsteps, they’re both making their parents proud. Alex and Jean’s son, Matthew, is a restaurateur in New York City who owns a popular Mexican restaurant while their daughter, Emily, works in real estate in Los Angeles.

“They’re really sharp, and have done their due diligence in their respective endeavors,” Alex said of his children. Jean added, “They’re both very compassionate, sensitive people. They’re really the best of Alex and I. You can talk to them. They’re our good friends.”

Together, Alex and Jean have paved a life filled with happiness, love and success. So how did they do it? “We have our challenges,” Jean stated. “And then we have our really beautiful times, where we’re just so blessed to know that we’re in each other’s courtyard.”

Funnily enough, Jean admitted that there was something about Alex that she couldn’t shake when the two first met. “There was just this deep sensitivity about him with a gruffy exterior,” she confessed. “I kept thinking, he’s 24 years older than me … but there was something that just kept drawing me to him.”

And after marrying the man of her dreams, Jean wouldn’t have it any other way. “He’s got a great sense of humor,” the brunette beauty gushed of her hubby. “He takes his job very seriously, but won’t take himself too seriously. He’s just an intelligent human being. Part of Alex’s staying youthful is his staying curious.”