Two years after the horror accident, Jay Leno jokes that his new face is “better” than his old one

Jay Leno has joked that his new face is “better” than his old one, two years after his burn accident.

The 74-year-old late-night legend suffered facial burns in a horrific petrol fire in November 2022, before breaking her collarbone and two ribs in a motorcycle accident two months later.

Reflecting on the first incident, he jokingly told E! News: “My recovery took nine days. I missed two days of work, so it wasn’t bad. Better than the face I had, so I’ll take it.”

The former “Tonight Show” host teased that he hopes his “next chapter” doesn’t involve his “next accident,” while also offering a promising look at his current life.

He said, “It’s good. Things are going well. I can’t complain. I just write jokes, tell jokes and get checked. Very easy process.”

Jay also praised his wife Mavis Leon for making him happy.

He added: “I was very lucky. I’ve been married to the same woman for 45 years.” [The secret is] Don’t mess up – it’s that simple.”

The TV star and comedian appeared at the Daytime Beauty Awards on Monday (9/30/24) to pay tribute to his surgeon Dr. Peter Grossman to present the award for outstanding achievements in medicine.

Speaking on stage, he recalled going to the burn center after he had “a face full of gasoline” and caught fire before realizing his wife, who had been diagnosed with dementia, didn’t know where he was.

He said: “I go home, see my wife and go to sleep without realizing that there is still a fire.”

“When I wake up, I can’t get the pillow off my face. So I sit there with a pair of scissors and try to cut the pillow off. So Dr. “Grossman took the pillow off my face.”

After recovering from successful facial surgery, Jay soon needed further treatment following another brutal accident.

He continued: “I’m riding my motorcycle and a guy had a cable across the street and boom, it ripped my face apart.”

“I have Dr. Called Grossman and said, ‘Listen, I need a different face. The other face you got was great, but I just need another one.’

“I guess I’m officially a two-faced idiot now.”