FILE - Vanna White, left, and Pat Sajak make an appearance at Radio City Music Hall for a taping of celebrity week on “Wheel of Fortune” in New York on Sept. 29, 2007. FILE - Pat Sajak, left, and Vanna White appear aboard the Wheel of Fortune Express in Miami on Feb. 12, 1987 to tour 33 cities from Miami to Washington, DC. FILE - Pat Sajak, left, and Vanna White, from “Wheel of Fortune,” attend a ceremony honoring Harry Friedman with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on Nov.
“As this chapter of our lives is coming to an end, I know you’ll still be close by. You’re like a brother to me and I consider you a true lifelong friend who I will always adore,” she said. “I love you, Pat.”White said that while their long-running work collaboration has been significant to her — noting that he made her feel “so comfortable and so confident” when she started — she said their personal friendship has meant much more.
“As much fun as we had on camera, those memories, milestones and life events we shared with our families, outside the studio, are my favorite,” she said, seeming to hold back tears. “We’ve watched our children grow up together, we’ve traveled all over the world, we’ve eaten hundreds of meals together. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve celebrated.
“I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them,” Seacrest said.