Jay Leno's dementia-stricken wife Mavis, 77, appears to sport black eye as the couple are seen on Los Angeles outing - after host, 74, was appointed as her conservator

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Jay Leno's dementia-stricken wife Mavis was seen sporting an apparent black eye as she was spotted with the host on an outing in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

Late night legend Leno, 74, has been caring for Mavis, 77, and was recently appointed her conservator.

Mavis - who wed Leno in 1980 - was seen with a dark bruise around her right eye as she was driven around in LA by her devoted husband.

The dementia Mavis suffers from is so advanced that she sometimes doesn't recognize him and doesn't remember what her birthdate is, court documents found by DailyMail.com revealed earlier this year.

The ex-Tonight Show host petitioned Los Angeles Superior Court in January to be appointed Mavis' conservator because her condition makes her unable to handle her own affairs.

In a filing supporting Leno's petition, her court-appointed attorney, Ronald Ostrin, shed new light on Mavis's diminishing mental capacity that has brought sadness to the couple's otherwise 'perfect' marriage of 43 years. 

'According to (Mavis') neurologist, Dr. Hart Cohen, she has advanced dementia, sometimes does not know her husband Jay, nor her date of birth,' Ostrin said.

'She has lots of disorientation, will ruminate about her parents who have both passed and her mother who died about 20 years ago.' 

Dr. Cohen - who was called in to treat Mavis after she had a car crash in 2018 - told Ostrin that Leno 'Loves his wife very much and wanted to bring this matter out of respect to her.

'He said that Mr. Leno is such a nice man and treats Mavis like gold.'

Discussing their marriage at the Feminist Majority Foundation's 16th Annual Global Women's Rights Awards & Gala earlier this year, Leno told Fox News that he and Mavis are closer than ever.

'We've been married 44 years. It gets easier. It doesn't get harder,' he said.

'We do everything together. I go home every night, make dinner and sit around. We enjoy each other's company,' he added.

Leno was affectionate with a beaming Mavis as they posed for photos on the red carpet, protectively wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close.

The couple took the gala stage later that night, where Leno choked back tears as he said that marrying the philanthropist was 'the smartest thing I've ever done.'

'We have a lot of fun,' he gushed to the crowd.

'People say marriage is difficult. I don't get it. I enjoy her company. I enjoy taking care of her. We have fun. 

'She's the most independent woman I ever knew. Again, I just couldn't be prouder of her.'

He added, 'I am part of her legacy and that's what I'm proudest of.' 

Mavis is a lifelong philanthropist and has been the chair of the Feminist Majority Foundation's Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan since 1997.