Chevy Chase has entertained millions for decades. He’s lived a life filled with hits, headlines, and unforgettable characters, but beneath all the noise sits one choice he can’t easily brush aside. It goes back to the late 70s. A moment from that he’s now willing to admit still haunts him today.
Former Saturday Night Live alum, Chevy Chase, made his exit from the popular late-night show in the middle of the show’s second season in 1976. At the time, he was huge. He was the face everyone recognized, the guy who kept fans tuning in every Saturday night.
Despite what many assumed, Chase’s departure wasn’t part of a grand plan. Chevy admits it all came down to a woman. It involved a relationship that swept him up so quickly, he made a massive life decision before thinking about how it could affect the rest of his life.
So what happened? According to Us Weekly, Chevy claims he was so caught up in this woman’s attention that he would have, and did do, anything to keep her near him. The woman he was with wasn’t interested in moving to New York.
Chevy Chase Moves On With Life After the Show
So Chevy gave up everything to Los Angeles to build a life with his second wife, Jacqueline Carlin. Unfortunately, the marriage didn’t last long. And it didn’t take long before he began to feel the absence of everything he’d left behind.
The Christmas Vacation star admits that right away, he began missing his old friends and cast members from SNL. He felt the regret and pain of his rash decision. “It was strange because I missed it right away. And I still miss it,” he admitted. “I loved that show, I loved being with Lorne and the cast. You know, that was a great group of people. So I missed them, too.”
Despite Chevy Chase’s rash decision to leave SNL in his heyday. His career didn’t miss a beat. His movies became staples that fans still revisit today. Even so, his relationship with SNL never smoothed out completely.
Old conflicts with castmates, backstage tension, and later public criticism stirred up fresh waves of controversy. Even so, Chase often talked about how deeply he valued the people he started with.
“It was a mistake to leave SNL,” Chase, 82, said in the Thursday, November 20, trailer for the upcoming CNN Films documentary I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not.
Chevy Chase’s story is a mix of huge success and lingering what-ifs. His early departure from SNL became the turning point that continues to haunt him decades later. Fans can hear Chevy’s entire story in the upcoming documentary, which premieres on CNN on January 1, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
