Fiona Phillips, 64, thanks fans for their support on her new memoir as husband Martin Frizell shares lovely video amid Alzheimer’s diagnosis
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Smiling Fiona Phillips thanked fans for their love and support in a lovely new video her husband Martin Frizell shared on Instagram on Friday.
The former GMTV host, 64, was diagnosed with the progressive brain disorder in 2022, aged just 61.
In the clip, Fiona praised fans for their support on her new memoir, Remember When: My Life With Alzheimer’s, as she enjoyed an ice cream while on a walk in London.
She said: ‘Hello, thank you for reading my new book! Really good of you, hope you like it. Okay, bye.’
Martin captioned the post: ‘Out for a walk and an Almond Magnum on a hot London afternoon and some words of gratitude for all the kind folk thinking of delving into her book.’
In her candid new memoir, which published on Thursday, Martin, 66, shared how the couple struggled in the years leading up to her diagnosis.
Fiona Phillips, 64, was seen smiling and soaked up the sunshine in a lovely new video her husband Martin Frizell shared on Instagram on Friday
The former GMTV host was diagnosed with the progressive brain disorder in 2022, aged just 61
Speaking about the difficult period that began around 2015, Martin recalled: ‘Nothing I could say seemed to help.
He continued: ‘And I guess like in any relationship, the whole thing spirals. Because I felt she was being moody and critical of everything I said and did, I shut down too.
‘We were barely talking and while we were still in the same house we were living quite separate lives.
‘If we were both at home in the evenings, there would be long silences. After years of being able to chat about anything and everything, we’d run out of things to talk about.
‘The long silences can’t have been enjoyable for her either, but that was where we had got to.’
Martin admitted he never suspected the early signs of Alzheimer’s, saying: ‘I didn’t think for one moment that it was the menopause or, perish the thought, Alzheimer’s.
‘I just thought we had hit the wall that so many marriages do as the kids get older – ours were now well into their teens – and maybe as a couple we had just run our course.’
Earlier this month, the Mail published exclusive extracts from Fiona’s memoir.
In the clip, Fiona thanked fans for their support on her new memoir, Remember When: My Life With Alzheimer’s, as she enjoyed an ice cream while on a walk in London
In her candid new memoir, which published on Thursday, Martin, 66, shared how the couple struggled in the years leading up to her diagnosis (Martin pictured this month)
In the memoir, the pair – who wed in 1997 and share two children – revealed their marriage was ‘falling apart’ as a result of Fiona’s then undiagnosed battle with the disease (Martin and Fiona pictured in 2010)
Speaking about the difficult period that began around 2015, Martin recalled: ‘Nothing I could say seemed to help. And I guess like in any relationship, the whole thing spirals. Because I felt she was being moody and critical of everything I said and did, I shut down too’ (both pictured 2013)
In the memoir, the pair – who wed in 1997 and share two children – revealed their marriage was ‘falling apart’ as a result of Fiona’s then undiagnosed battle with the disease.
Fiona explained: ‘My marriage was coming under increasing strain. I’m sure the disease was at least partly responsible, but at the time neither of us could see it. I just became more and more disconnected from Martin and the boys.
‘”You’ve totally zoned out of our family and our marriage,” he would say to me. “Don’t be so bloody ridiculous!” I’d yell back.
‘But, if I’m honest, I think he was right. I just didn’t seem to have the energy for any of it any more.
‘I didn’t realise quite how seriously Martin felt about it all until one evening he announced he was moving out.
‘”Stop being so ridiculous!'” I yelled. “I’m just worn out. I’m tired – of everything.”
‘”That’s what you’ve been saying for years,'” he replied. “Maybe this – our marriage – is what’s making you so tired.”‘
Fiona first met Martin when she was working on GMTV as a presenter and he was its chief correspondent.
He continued: ‘We were barely talking and while we were still in the same house we were living quite separate lives’ (both pictured in 2016)
He later popped the question after they had been dating for just four weeks, before they went to Las Vegas to tie the knot in 1997.
Last year, he revealed he was stepping down as editor of ITV’s This Morning after 10 years in charge, in order to be ‘around much more’ for his wife during her Alzheimer’s battle.
Having turned his back on his prolific job, in his own candid words, Martin revealed Fiona now needs ‘a lot of help’, with his care extending to showering Fiona, brushing her teeth, dressing her and ultimately ‘making her feel as safe as possible’.
He explained: ‘It is January 2025 as I write this, and Fiona needs a lot of help. 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…
‘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…
‘She is still very stubborn and doesn’t like brushing her teeth or feeling that she is being told what to do, so she rails against it.’
He detailed how he knows he cannot fight her protestations for fear of illness, saying: ‘But this has to be the way, because the worst thing that could happen would be for her to get some kind of tooth infection when she is vulnerable.’
While Fiona can put her clothes on, she does not do so correctly, meaning Martin must also assist with this task, among others.
He writes: ‘She can put clothes on, but may not put them on the right way around, so she does need help dressing….
Fiona first met Martin when she was working on GMTV as a presenter and he was its chief correspondent. The couple tied the knot in 1997 and share two children together (pictured in 2001)
‘I try to lay out clothes for her to put on in the morning, but she tends to get attached to particular items of clothing and will wear them over and over again.’
Martin confessed in the memoir that he ‘wishes’ Fiona had been diagnosed with cancer rather than Alzheimer’s.
Detailing his thoughts on Fiona’s diagnosis, he admitted: ‘Being brutally honest, I wish Fiona had contracted cancer instead.
‘It’s a shocking thing to say, but at least then she might have had a chance of a cure, and certainly would have had a treatment pathway and an array of support and care packages. But that’s not there for Alzheimer’s.
‘Just like there are no funny or inspiring TikTok videos or fashion shoots with smiling, healthy, in-remission survivors.
‘After someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, they are pretty much left to their own devices. There is nothing more that can be done and you are left to cope alone.
‘Bit by bit, it takes everything. Through time, even the most glamorous, glittering star – such as Fiona was – will be wiped away.
‘As time has passed, I have come to understand that if I were to fall ill or worse, the whole house of cards would collapse. I have had to stay well for Fiona.’
Remember When: My Life With Alzheimer’s, by Fiona Phillips, is out now.
