Many Wheel of Fortune fans are wondering whether Pat Sajak is sick or even whether he’s still alive and doing well. The 78-year-old icon for “America’s Game” was replaced as the main host of the game show by Ryan Seacrest in 2024. The first episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune Season 5, hosted by Pat Sajak, aired in December before Christmas but was delayed for many months. Fortunately, co-host Vanna White has an update on Sajak’s health and how he’s been doing in semi-retirement.
How is Pat Sajak doing now?
Pat Sajak is “healthy” and “is doing great,” according to Vanna White who speaks with him on a regular basis.
On an April 1 podcast of Holding Kourt, White says she speaks with Sajak “all the time” and that she had dinner with Sajak about a month ago, suggesting that the host has no recent health issues.
In November 2019, Sajak underwent emergency surgery for a blocked intestine. Speaking with Good Morning America after the operation, he said that he had finished walking with his daughter, Maggie Sajak, before suddenly feeling excruciating pain. Within hours, doctors were preparing him for surgery while he was “in a fetal position, lying on the bed.” While the doctors were still unsure of what caused the blockage, the operation was ultimately successful. During his absence, White stepped up to host the show while he recovered.
Wheel of Fortune fans will be able to see Sajak as the host of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune when the fifth season continues on April 30, 2025 at 8 PM ET. All of the episodes of the show were taped in 2024, but the airing schedule for the season has been strangely erratic.
ABC has called this run Sajak’s “Final Spin,” suggesting that this will be the last time we will see him as the host of the show, though the network has yet to announce who might replace him for the primetime version of Wheel of Fortune. It would seem like Ryan Seacrest would take over the reins here as well, but the showrunners have reportedly had some issues with the host in recent months.
