"Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak shared a heartfelt moment with his daughter Maggie Sajak as he prepares for his 43-year run as host of the hit game show to come to an end.
Since 2021, Maggie, 29, has worked alongside her father, 77, as the social correspondent for "Wheel of Fortune" and "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune." Maggie produces digital content for the shows' fans, including exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes looks and special event sneak-peeks.
On Wednesday, the show's Instagram account uploaded a clip from an interview Maggie did with Pat to commemorate his last week on the show. During the interview, Maggie playfully asked her father how he felt about working with his "favorite daughter," to which he responded with a laugh.
She went on to say that he had a "nontraditional job" with a "nontraditional schedule" but noted that it allowed the TV personality to spend more time at home and "really raise" her and her brother Patrick, 33. Sajak shares Maggie and Patrick with his wife Lesley, whom he married in 1989.
"I like to say that I've had 40 years of a part-time job — pretending it was full-time," he said. "I could watch you guys grow up and go to the games and all that kind of stuff that work might have taken me away from."
He continued, "I mean, you've been a part of this show forever. I dragged you out when you were one year old and we were in Hawaii."
In 1996, Maggie made her first TV appearance during an episode of "Wheel of Fortune," joining her father onstage after marking her first birthday.
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Prior to taking on her role as social correspondent, she filled in for legendary letter-turner Vanna White for a week in 2020 while White hosted the show in place of Pat as he underwent surgery.
In 2023, she once again stepped in for White as the letter-turner for "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" during an episode in which White competed on the show.
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Sajak noted that he had been able to spend even more time with his daughter after she became a full-time staff member on the show.
"Now when you're working here, and I'm with three of my favorite ladies in the world," he said. "When I'm here, I'm with you and your mother and Vanna, and it's a pretty good life I got."
"So you saw us a lot before, but, you know," Maggie said.
"Yeah, but now I never get away from you," he joked. "It's funny. People — I bet they think that I stormed in one day and said, ‘I want my daughter to work on the show.’ I wish I could take the credit, but I had nothing to do with it."
"I thought you demanded it," she quipped.
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"Yes, that's what I did," Sajak said as his daughter laughed. "I stormed in."
"No, it's been obviously such a pleasure for me — working with you," she told him.
After more than four decades as host, Sajak’s final episode will air on Friday, June 7. The farewell episode was taped on April 5.
In June 2023, Sajak announced that he was exiting the show.
"Well, the time has come," he wrote in a statement. "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. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)."
Soon after the news was released, it was announced that Ryan Seacrest would be taking over as host in Season 42.
