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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFormer GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips initially blamed menopause for her marriage struggles, before being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer\u2019s. <\/p>\n
The broadcaster, 64, learned that she had the condition, which causes cognitive decline, in 2022 and went public with her diagnosis the following year, in a bid to raise awareness and dismantle stigma. <\/p>\n
In an extract from her new book Remember When: My Life With Alzheimer\u2019s<\/em>, published in the Mail on Sunday<\/em>, the TV star admitted that her marriage to editor Martin Frizell was \u201ccoming under increasing strain\u201d, and she now believes that \u201cthe disease was at least partly responsible\u201d.<\/p>\nHowever, \u201cat the time neither of us could see it\u201d, she added, and Phillips \u201cjust became more and more disconnected from Martin and the boys\u201d. <\/p>\n
After dealing with \u201cthe sense of brain fog and a sense of anxiety that [she] could rarely shake off\u201d, as well as mood swings that made her behaviour \u201cunpredictable\u201d, Phillips started to believe that her symptoms were linked to menopause.<\/p>\n
However, things didn\u2019t improve after several months of HRT (hormone replacement therapy) treatment, which is used to alleviate menopause symptoms. <\/p>\n
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\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Phillips now believes Alzheimer\u2019s was \u2018at least partly responsible\u2019 for earlier struggles in her marriage (Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nPhillips then consulted a doctor, who asked her to undergo a series of tests, and also had an MRI scan and lumbar puncture.<\/p>\n
The consultant then informed her that she had early onset Alzheimer\u2019s at the age of 61. <\/p>\n
The couple were initially \u201cshell shocked\u201d by the news, but eventually vowed to \u201ccontinue to live life \u2018as normally as possible\u2019\u201d. <\/p>\n
Frizell stepped down from his role as the editor of ITV\u2019s This Morning <\/em>in 2024 after a decade on the show, in order to focus on \u201cfamily priorities\u201d. <\/p>\n\n
\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>The couple have been together since 1997 (PA)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe journalist recently made the heartbreaking admission that he wished his wife had been diagnosed with cancer rather than dementia.<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s 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,\u201d he said in another extract from Remember When<\/em>. <\/p>\n\u201cBut that\u2019s not there for Alzheimer\u2019s. Just like there are no funny or inspiring TikTok videos or fashion shoots with smiling, healthy, in-remission survivors.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Former GMTV presenter Fiona Phillips initially blamed menopause for her marriage struggles, before being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer\u2019s. The broadcaster, 64, learned that she had the condition, which causes cognitive decline, in 2022 and went public with her diagnosis the following year, in a bid to raise awareness and dismantle stigma. In an extract from her new book Remember When: My Life With Alzheimer\u2019s, published in the Mail on Sunday, the TV star admitted that her marriage to editor Martin Frizell was \u201ccoming under increasing strain\u201d, and she now believes that \u201cthe disease was at least partly responsible\u201d. However, \u201cat the time neither of us could see it\u201d, she added, and Phillips \u201cjust became more and more disconnected from Martin and the boys\u201d. After dealing with \u201cthe sense of brain fog and a sense of anxiety that [she] could rarely shake off\u201d, as well as mood swings that made her behaviour \u201cunpredictable\u201d, Phillips started to believe that her symptoms were linked to menopause. However, things didn\u2019t i…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3203"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}