‘Jeopardy!’: Alex Trebek’s Widow, Jean, Looks Back at His Final Episode Year After Death

Just one year after Alex Trebek passed away from pancreatic cancer, his widow Jean Trebek took to her Instagram account to look back on his finale Jeopardy! episode. Her post is part of the Compassionate Project.

“My beloved husband passed away one year ago,” the Jeopardy! Icon’s widow writes in the post. “One of his final messages was that of the importance of having compassion for each other. In honor of Alex’s beautiful and powerful life, please take a moment to watch this short video.”

Jean Trebek was married to the longtime Jeopardy! host for 30 years before he passed away from cancer. The couple has two children, Matthew and Emily. Prior to his death, Alex spoke to People about his marriage. “She’s kept me alive. If it weren’t for Jean, I’d have put myself out of this a long time ago.”

The Jeopardy! icon also revealed in his book The Answer Is…Reflections On My Life that with Jean it just happened. “Sometimes you look at something, you look at someone, and you know. I mean, you’ve heard stories of people who meet and decide within half an hour. I knew this was going to be the person I’d end up with.”

Alex also admitted that he wasn’t looking for love when he met Jean, but he recognized at a “gut level” that there was someone who was going to complete him as a human being.  

Jean Trebek Opens Up About Her Late  Husband & ‘Jeopardy!’ Host

During her recent interview with Eden magazine, Jean Trebek revealed she didn’t know just how much of an icon her late husband and the Jeopardy! icon was to the rest of the world.

“Alex was my dead husband and my most beloved friend,” Jean explained. “Like most long-term relationships, we had our ups and downs. But the truth of ti was that we were very close and experienced a lot of life together.”

Jean also revealed that it was important for the Jeopardy! Host to keep his personal life separate from his professional life unless it was needed. “I.e. attending an award show or something like that. For the most part, Alex and I enjoyed staying home. When we did go out, it was perhaps for a quick dinner or movie every now and then.”

The Jeopardy! icon’s widow goes on to say that she knew that the show was successful and people liked him a lot. She started realizing just how much he was adored by fans when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“We received cartons of mail every day filled with get-well cards at our home address. And I knew that the studio was receiving so much more. It was astonishing!”