The husband of Fiona Phillips has opened up about his wife's condition, a year after her devastating diagnosis. Martin Frizell has shared an update after Fiona was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease.
The 62-year-old former GMTV anchor has now bravely chosen to speak about her battle after living with the condition in secret. The mum-of-two opened up about her diagnosis, in an interview with the Mirror.
Fiona's husband Martin, has remained by her side since her diagnosis. And the ITV boss joined her for her brave interview to discuss her condition. Speaking to the Mirror editor Alison Phillips about whether he had found the past few months difficult, the 64-year-old explained: "My only frustration is just I want her to get better. I want her to remember things.
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"I want the apathy to go and I want this person back who was vibrant and interested in things and eager to do new things...But she's not there at the moment."
Fiona appeared visibly moved by her husband's words but also a little confused. "Really?" she said. "I hadn't noticed I was being like that." While Martin added: "But you wouldn't because you're in the middle of it."
Martins has been administering Fiona's trial medication on a regular basis by injecting the drug into her stomach. But, Fiona revealed: "I try not to rely on him too much.
"And he hasn’t really ramped it up because he has always been good."
Martin laughed and added: "That's too kind Fiona... I have absolutely ramped it up... Before I didn't ever have to worry about Fiona before and now I do... 'What is she doing all day while I'm at work? What is she doing in the evening if I'm out? what has she eaten?'"
The couple had put symptoms of brain fog and anxiety down to the menopause. Fiona's husband explained: "We thought maybe it was the menopause because all the symptoms were there; brain fog, anxiety and confusion.
"We got in touch with a menopause specialist who took her under their wing and put her on HRT but while that improved some symptoms, the brain fog remained."
Alzheimer's has affected a number of members of Fiona's family, with her mum, dad and uncle all having previously been diagnosed. Fiona's two sons, Nat, aged 24, and Mackenzie, 21, were tested for the gene with results coming back stating they do not carry it.
Martin said: "When the results came back as negative it was a huge moment - such an enormous sense of relief. There’s no Alzheimer’s on my side of the family and thank goodness it seems the boys have not inherited from Fiona’s side of the family."
