Jimmy Kimmel's wife, Molly McNearney, has mixed feelings about the comedian potentially stepping away from late-night television after more than two decades.
"It definitely appeals to me for the nervous system of the household," McNearney said on the Monday, Aug. 24, episode of "Armchair Expert."
"I feel like Jimmy has a fly rod in one hand and a torch in the other right now," she added. "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, a cohead writer and executive producer of "Jimmy
Kimmel Live!," said she believes the show offers more than entertainment and gives viewers a platform to feel 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."
McNearney also acknowledged that the end of Kimmel's show would mark a major change in her career.
"I would be happy to be done with the show, end it in a great way and do my own next thing," she said. "But I do care deeply about that show and the people who work there. And I think the voice is really important right now."
Kimmel, who joined his wife on "Armchair Expert," said he's "never going to stop doing things" whenever his late-night run eventually comes to an end.
"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?'"
Kimmel's show has weathered its share of controversy over the past year. ABC temporarily suspended the comedian in September 2025 over comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination.
President Donald Trump celebrated Kimmel's suspension at the time and later criticized ABC's decision to bring him back on the air.
In April, Trump again called for Kimmel to lose his job, saying ABC "better" fire him "soon," after the comedian jokingly called first lady Melania Trump an "expectant widow" days before a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. ABC took no action against Kimmel over the remark, which the comedian defended as a "very light roast joke" and not, "by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination."
Contributing: Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jimmy Kimmel's wife wants him to retire, but also 'keep fighting'
