Martin Frizell has shared a new picture of wife Fiona Phillips and admitted that he can see her “slipping away”.
The former This Morning boss was on Lorraine today (February 11), and shared an update on the star, who has been battling Alzheimer’s since 2022.
Both of Fiona’s parents suffered with the disease, with Fiona caring for them up until their deaths. Now, as he releases an updated version of their book, Remember When, Martin has revealed that Fiona is sadly in the advanced stages of early-onset Alzheimer’s.
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He’s also started to question how much longer he will be able to care for Fiona, 65, at home.
New picture of Fiona Phillips amid ‘wretched’ illness
Martin told Lorraine Kelly today that he can see his wife “slipping away” due to the “wretched” illness.
“It’s wretched… not just for her but for the family as well,” he said. The couple share two grown-up sons, Mackenzie and Nathaniel.
“She’s still there, but day by day, we can see it slipping away. And just to sit there and see this person who was, as you know was the most dynamic, bubbly, and had so much pride in how she dressed and what she did. It’s just a loss of dignity.”
He added: “People do ask: ‘Are you okay?’ and I used to say: ‘It’s not me, don’t worry about me.’ But I am conscious that I’ve never been a depressive person but I can slip into that. My respite is work, I’ve gone back to broadcasting, and podcasting… but I still feel guilty, I feel guilty being here.”
Martin then added: “I don’t want to give the impression she’s some sort of basket case as she’s very much with us. She still is the world’s most stubborn woman, and she’s still around the house.”
‘What happens next?’
Martin also spoke about his wife over the weekend. He said that Fiona is now in the advanced stages of early-onset Alzheimer’s. He also shared that, since the release of their book last summer, Fiona’s condition has deteriorated.
Martin shared that as well as the memory loss Fiona has been forced to endure, she is also still in terrible pain. It’s something that she’s been struggling with for months. The cause of the pain remains undiagnosed.
Martin spoke to the Daily Mail on the way to see a specialist, commenting: “There’s no way I could drive or we could take public transport. Fiona now rarely understands where she is going or why. She’s constantly asking what is happening. Probably four or five times a minute on loop for the entire journey.”
He also shared how he’s afraid of “what happens next”. And also how much longer he can continue to provide care for Fiona at home. He told the paper: “How long can we keep and care for my beautiful wife at home? What happens next?”
She can now no longer write or work a phone. She also struggles to figure out where the music she so loves is being played from. Martin also revealed that Fiona now spends a lot of her time resting or sleeping in bed. This is something her specialists have recommended.
Support from Kate McCann
After publishing their book, Remember When, Martin said he was inundated from support. It even came from an unlikely quarter, with a letter from Kate McCann – mother of missing Madeleine – rousing Fiona temporarily from her fog.
Martin revealed: “Out of the blue I received a message for Fiona from Kate McCann. She remembered that she was a warm, bubbly and capable lady. Kate was sure those attributes must have stood Fiona in good stead. I didn’t realise until I read the letter that Kate McCann, herself a doctor, had spent almost 10 years in [NHS] Memory Services, largely drawn to it because of her dad, who also had dementia.”
He added that when he read the letter to Fiona, she remembered Madeleine, and became emotional. He said that, for a moment, the Alzheimer’s fog lifted and she was back as the GMTV presenter and sympathetic mum who’d met the McCanns several times.
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Fiona Phillips’ Alzheimer’s diagnosis
The former presenter was diagnosed with the degenerative brain disorder in 2022.
At the time, she revealed how it had “ravaged” her family, after her parents battled the disease, before adding: “And now it has come for me.”
Read more: Martin Frizell shares his ‘living grief’ as he slowly ‘says goodbye’ to wife Fiona Phillips
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