Pat Sajak and Vanna White Said They Would Retire Together — Is That True?

The Gist:

• Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak announced that he will retire after the 41st season.
• In the past, Vanna White hinted that she would leave the same time as Pat.
• After signing a new contract, Vanna will be on Wheel of Fortune for two more seasons.
• Ryan Seacrest will be the new host on Wheel of Fortune.

It's the end of an era.

On June 12, 2023, longtime Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak announced his retirement. He tweeted, "Well, the time has come. I've decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It's been a wonderful ride, and I'll have more to say in the coming months."

Pat's longtime co-host, Vanna White responded to the news on Twitter, saying, "I couldn't be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come." However, fans recall Vanna saying that being on the show without Pat is unimaginable to her. So, we're dying to know: Is Vanna White also retiring?

If you're an OG fan of the show, you may remember when Vanna first joined Wheel's team in 1980. Since then, she and Pat have become one of the longest-running duos on TV. It's difficult to imagine someone else tapping the tiles or another dude in a suit talking with hopeful contestants gunning for a huge cash prize.

The show's creator, the late Merv Griffin, clearly felt that the pair were about as iconic a duo as one could find and that they were a team "like Ken and Barbie." In a January 2021 interview with Access Hollywood, Vanna said that the idea of being on the show without Pat is unimaginable to her.

"I can't imagine doing the show without Pat," Vanna told the outlet. Pat revealed he felt the same way and suggested that when one of them decided it was time to hang up their proverbial spurs, they would do so as a duo. "Yeah, we've talked about it, and we'll probably walk off into the sunset at the same time."

But now, word is Vanna has reached a contractual deal and is slated to stay on air through the next two seasons.

The deal may have come with a long overdue pay raise — one she hasn't received in 18 years. Initial negotiations stalled due to her plateaued salary. She makes $3 million yearly on the show, while her counterpart earns nearly five times that amount. While negotiations haven't yet been finalized, it's entirely possible we might see Vanna alongside Wheel of Fortune's new host, Ryan Seacrest.

“Vanna has been such a staple on that show and in our living rooms for so many years. I have been very excited to work with her, but now that it's official I can say, 'Congratulations Vanna! I can't wait,'" said Ryan in a pre-taping for Sunday Today With Willie Geist.

After hosting his monumental 7,000th episode of Wheel of Fortune in 2019, Pat told USA Today he would likely retire in the "single digits" of years from then. And that, he did, announcing his retirement just four years later.

"I'd like to leave while the show's still popular, and I'd like to leave before people ask me to leave. And I'd like to leave before people tune in and see me and go, 'Ooh, what the hell happened to him?'" he said.