Fiona Phillips’ husband Martin Frizzell has opened up on the ‘wretched’ days his beloved wife faces as her Alzheimer’s disease progresses in a candid new interview
TV host Fiona Phillips was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2022, and her husband Martin Frizzell has been steadfastly honouring their marital vows of standing together in sickness and health.
However, the former This Morning producer, who has been wedded to Fiona for 28 years, has opened up about the increasing pain of living with this brain degenerative condition. Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia in the UK, resulting in a continuous decline in brain functions including memory, cognitive skills and other abilities. This progressive, life-limiting condition has been the primary cause of death in the UK for the past decade, making it a cause deeply personal to Martin as he witnesses his wife’s struggle with the disease.
“I used to say good days and bad days, now I just say bad days or wretched days, I think wretched is a great word for it,” he shared in a recent interview with BBC Newsnight. He also revealed how the disease has impacted his wife.
“In the cab ride, 35 minutes, she asked me 72 times, where are we going?'”.
In another heart-wrenching interview, he confessed that while Fiona recognises him, she sometimes fails to comprehend that he is her husband, even once mistaking him for her kidnapper, reports the Mirror.
Martin has been openly discussing his wife’s vulnerability ahead of the release of their joint memoir, Remember When: My Life with Alzheimer’s. Chatting with Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary on This Morning, he revealed: “In the book there’s a photo of her looking great and smiling but what you don’t know is she thought I kidnapped her.”
Highlighting the harsh reality of the illness, Martin shared that Fiona sometimes begs to ‘go home’ to her parents, not realising they have passed away. “She does recognise me most of the time – she doesn’t quite know I’m her husband – but she knows who I am. Every now and then she’ll want to go home to her parents and I haven’t the heart to say ‘they aren’t here’.”
Former Mirror columnist Fiona, 64, initially mistook her symptoms for menopause when she first began experiencing “brain fog and anxiety”. The mother-of-two was later diagnosed with the same devastating disease her parents battled, with the star having cared for them both.
Martin, who led ITV’s This Morning for a decade, stepped down from his role in February to look after Fiona. In excerpts from their poignant memoir published in the Daily Mail, he detailed his wife’s daily routine.
“It is January 2025 as I write this, and Fiona needs a lot of help,” Martin disclosed. “She needs help showering and brushing her teeth. She can do these things physically, but is unable now to think about how she should do them.”
Martin shared the everyday realities of caring for his wife, saying: “I wash Fiona’s hair because she wouldn’t know what shampoo or conditioner to use or how wet her hair needs to be or that she must rinse the soap suds out afterwards. And most nights I’ll say, ‘Right, we need to brush our teeth before we go to bed,’ and I’ll put the toothpaste on the brush and hand it to her.”
The couple, who married in 1997 and have two sons, Nat and Mackenzie, are navigating the challenges of Fiona’s progressing Alzheimer’s disease.
Fiona had initially struggled to come to terms with her diagnosis.
Martin explained that while Fiona can still dress herself, she often doesn’t do it “correctly” and may put clothes on the wrong way round. He also mentioned that his wife tends to become fixated on a particular item of clothing, wanting to wear it repeatedly.
Fiona is best known for presenting ITV’s GMTV Today, but her career began in local radio. She was also a columnist for the Daily Mirror and a panellist on Loose Women.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
