She spun the decision around in her head.
Iconic “Wheel of Fortune” star Vanna White revealed that she almost left the game show after her long-time cohost Pat Sajak announced that he was retiring earlier this year.
“Of course it’s a thought. It’s like, ‘Well, wait, if you’re leaving, what am I going to do? How can I stay without you?’” White, 66, told People. “It was a very hard decision for me to make, because it definitely crossed my mind. It’s like, ‘I just don’t know if I can do this without you,’ but I thought about it and I’m not ready to retire, so I am staying on.”
The Post reached out to White for comment.
White admitted the show “will be different” without Sajak, 76, but also said she’s excited to work with “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest — who will be taking over after he leaves at the end of season 41.
“I know Ryan — he is professional, he’s good at what he does, he’s kind,” explained White. “I think it’s going to be good. He’s such a nice guy and he loves what he does.”
According to White — who has been Sajak’s trusted letter turner since 1982 — Seacrest didn’t want to trod on Sajak’s legacy.
“He said, ‘Look, I am not replacing Pat. I’m not going in to try to fill Pat’s shoes. No one can ever replace him,’” she recalled.
As for Sajak’s final episodes? White teased that the syndicated game show is going to send him out in style.
“We are celebrating this year with Pat and all the good times, all the 41 years, all the memories,” she told the outlet. “We are going to be doing some incredible stuff to say goodbye to Pat at the end of the season.”
“We have almost a whole season to do that, to just look at all the great things that we’ve done together. I’m so looking forward to that. It’s going to be very sad,” added White.
White and Sajak have struck up an irreplaceable bond through the years.
“I mean, I know everything about him,” she said. “He knows everything about me. I can tell when he’s walking up the stairs. Our dressing rooms are on the second floor. I can hear in his footsteps when he is walking up the steps, if he’s going to be in a good mood or not.”
She added: “Forty-one years together, you know each other so well. It definitely is bittersweet, but he’s decided to retire and I have to accept that.”
Sajak officially announced his retirement in June, telling fans his time on “Wheel” had been “a wonderful ride.”
“Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last,” Sajak posted on X ( formerly 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!)”
White revealed Monday that when she does eventually leave the game show, she would love to have Sajak’s daughter, Maggie Sajak, take over her role.
“I think she’s a good replacement if I can’t be there for some reason,” White, 66, told E! News. “She’s been around it her whole life, so I think she can fill in for me, for sure.”
White — who reportedly made $3 million a season — recently asked for a raise from the show’s producers, claiming that she only received bonuses for the last 18 years but was denied several times.
The former “Price is Right” star reportedly “lawyered up” and was asking for half of current host Pat’s $15 million a year salary. She later renewed her contract for an undisclosed sum and signed on through the 2026 season.
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