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Jimmy Kimmel and his wife Molly McNearney are being honest about what life might look like if Jimmy Kimmel Live! came to an end.
On the August 24 episode of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, McNearney admitted that the idea of her husband stepping away "definitely appeals to me for the nervous system of the household."
"I feel like Jimmy has a fly rod in one hand and a torch in the other right now," she said. "It's like he deserves to go out there and just be on the river and relax, but I also want him to keep fighting. And I feel this sense of desire to not quit because I think what he's doing is incredibly important right now."
McNearney explained that continuing the show during such politically tense times has given viewers a sense of being heard. "Yes, I know we're doing it in a vacuum, but I think it's giving people a feeling of like, their voice is heard, and I think it's important," she said. "But as his wife, I really would like him to be able to not do the show anymore so he could relax."
When it comes to her own career, McNearney said she would be fine with either outcome. She explained that she would be happy to end the show on a strong note and move on to her next project, but also emphasized her deep care for the program and the people who work on it.
Kimmel, 58, admitted he wrestles with the idea of retirement but worries about regretting it. "I know people who've been in that situation," he said. "It's funny, people make a big show of like, 'I'm done and I'm tired doing this.' And then they make a lesser comeback trying to do the same thing. That's always a bummer. And I always look at that and go, 'Oh, is that going to be me?'"
He added that while he's considered ending the show before he's less inclined to quit now. "Weirdly, I deal with it less now than I used to because now I feel like... this show is an outlet for people who are outraged by what's going on, and I feel some responsibility to those people."
