Pat Sajak Offers Insight into His Post-Retirement Life While Teasing Fans

Pat Sajak shares a humorous update about his life after retirement, revealing he has moved to Montana, though fans are skeptical of his location in a recent video update.

Pat Sajak, known for his long tenure as the host of Wheel of Fortune, has shared a light-hearted update on his life following retirement. Sajak announced that he has moved to Montana, a statement that elicited some playful skepticism from his fans.

In a video posted on X on June 14, Sajak addressed his followers: "Hi, know that a lot of you have been wondering—asking me how I'm doing. And I'm enjoying life. I moved here to Montana and everything is going just great." However, the 79-year-old host filmed the video by a pool, with the ocean visible in the background and palm trees surrounding him, leading many to question the authenticity of his claim.

As he continued speaking, a distant cow mooing can be heard, prompting Sajak to humorously state, "You'll have to excuse me, I have some cattle to attend to. Here boy." Fans quickly joined in on the joke in the comments, with one remarking, "That takes me back to those lazy days surfing in Butte," while another quipped about "some of them Montana beach cows. I herd of them." One viewer even expressed confusion, joking, "Bro had me second guessing my geography for a sec."

Since his retirement from Wheel of Fortune in 2024, Sajak has maintained a relatively low profile. He did, however, showcase his acting abilities in 2025 by starring in a revival of the play Prescription: Murder at the Hawaii Theatre in Honolulu. Reflecting on his post-show career, he mentioned to Hawaii news station KHON in 2023, "I'm realistic enough to know the people aren't gonna be banging my door down, but I'll take projects if they come."

Looking forward to this new phase of his life, Sajak acknowledged some nerves regarding the future. He joked, "I suspect most of my time will be whittling on the front porch, but I don't know how to whittle and I don't have a front porch. So that'll be a challenge."

For those interested in the history and details of Wheel of Fortune, here are some intriguing facts about the show:

1. Wheel of Fortune was created by Merv Griffin and first aired as a daytime game show on NBC in 1975, inspired by the word game Hangman.

2. Pat Sajak became the host in 1981, with Vanna White joining as cohost the following year; the show went into syndication in 1983 and has since spawned a spin-off, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, which debuted on ABC in 2021.

3. Sajak, who was born in Chicago, began his broadcasting career after serving in the United States Army in 1968, where he worked with Armed Forces Radio in Saigon during the Vietnam War. He later held various positions at radio and television stations before being invited by Merv Griffin to host Wheel of Fortune.

4. Vanna White, who grew up in South Carolina, initially aimed for a career in modeling after studying at a fashion design school in Atlanta. She moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and was ultimately discovered by Merv Griffin.

5. The first letter Vanna turned on the puzzle board was T, and she has since become an iconic figure on the show.

6. Jim Thornton became the announcer for Wheel of Fortune in 2011, having previously lent his voice to various movies, TV shows, and commercials.

7. Before retiring in June 2024, Sajak and White appeared in over 8,000 episodes of Wheel of Fortune across 41 seasons of syndication, with Sajak earning a Guinness World Record in 2019 for the longest career as a game show host on the same show.

8. Vanna White also holds a Guinness World Record for the "most frequent clapper," with estimates suggesting she has clapped over 3,480,864 times across 30 seasons, averaging about 606 claps per show.

9. The show attracts more than 20 million viewers weekly, as reported in a 2023 press release.

10. Over 41 seasons, Wheel of Fortune has awarded nearly 600 cars and close to 5,000 vacations to contestants, distributing more than $324 million in cash and prizes.

11. Vanna has walked the equivalent of two marathons (about 52 miles) on the puzzle board and has worn over 7,000 dresses, with her first outfit repeat occurring only in 2020 after nearly four decades.

12. The iconic wheel used on the show weighs 2,400 pounds, and the production team transports it along with over a million pounds of equipment to various filming locations.

13. The show's puzzle board was updated in 2022 to feature a single giant screen, utilizing laser technology that allows Vanna to operate it without direct contact.

14. The price to buy a vowel has remained at $250 for the past four decades, and behind-the-scenes technology helps Pat quickly identify the number of letters in a puzzle after a contestant guesses.

15. A used letter board is available for contestants to track which letters have been called, although it remains unseen by home viewers.

16. Pat Sajak also introduced the Toss Up puzzles to increase content without extending time, which have been well-received by audiences.