Pat Sajak Says Goodbye To 'Wheel Of Fortune' After 41 ' Wonderful' Seasons

Pat Sajak's decades-long run with "Wheel of Fortune" has an end date.

The television personality has confirmed his retirement from the competitive game show through his social media account, stating that the upcoming season will be his last. The 76-year-old has earned numerous accolades since he took over hosting duties from Chuck Woolery in 1981. He even became the longest-running host of a game show, surpassing "The Price Is Right" host Bob Barker in 2018.

Sajak will be taking the back seat as a consultant after more than 40 years of hosting "Wheel of Fortune." Taking to Twitter to share the news with his nearly 380k followers, the Chicago native wrote:

"Well, the time has come. I've decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It's been a wonderful ride, and I'll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it'll keep the clickbait sites busy!)."

Even though the news has been a long time coming, it still affected his fans, who have stayed loyal to the game show because of him. One such person tweeted, "honestly brings a tear to my eye to think pat Sajac [sic] will no longer be the host of Wheel of Fortune. What iconic moments have been had, here's a pic from when dudy dude was on wheel with pat chatting about life."

"Wtf. Take it back right now," a second person tweeted, alongside a gif of a woman crying hysterically. A third fan added, "Pat Sajak is leaving Wheel of Fortune and I'm not okay. I've watched him on the show since I was a kid. Happy for him but wow."

"Wow - never thought this day would come even though logically it's inevitable. You, Vanna & the Wheel are an institution. It will be an end of an era," a fourth fan noted. Sajak's daughter, Maggie Marie, also stepped into the quotes to point out, "It's so much fun working with my dad…and we're looking forward to even more fun in Season 41💙."

Sajak's impending retirement was also confirmed through the EVP of Game Shows at Sony Pictures Television, Suzanne Prete, who issued this statement to PEOPLE that reads: 

"As the host of Wheel of Fortune, Pat has entertained millions of viewers across America for 40 amazing years. We are incredibly grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host for all these years, and we look forward to celebrating his outstanding career throughout the upcoming season. Pat has agreed to continue as a consultant on the show for three years following his last year hosting, so we're thrilled to have him remaining close to the Wheel of Fortune family!"

Sajak, who has received 19 nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host, first hinted at his retirement last September when he admitted during an interview:

"Years go by fast. We're getting near the end. It's been a long [time]. We're not gonna do this for another 40 years. The end is near."

Last December, The Blast reported that Sajak's co-host, Vanna White, spoke candidly about her sadness about his imminent exit from the game show. Touching on her time on "Wheel of Fortune" and her close bond with the father-of-two, she divulged:

"I think when Merv Griffin chose both of us, 40 and 41 years ago, he saw something between us — a brother-sister type relationship. And I think that is kind of what it is. He saw that we would be able to get along, and we do. We are like a brother and sister team."

Seeing as their closeness has kept them going through the years, it was no surprise that White found it "depressing" that there was a ticking clock on their joint hosting career. In the 66-year-old's words:

"I don't even want to think about that. I mean, we're a team. That's depressing. I don't even want to think about it. I can't imagine. Everybody relates 'Wheel of Fortune' to Pat and Vanna. We're like Ken and Barbie, you know? We've been in everybody's homes for 40 years, so it would be weird having somebody else turn my letters."