Fiona Phillipsâ husband, Martin Frizell, has opened up about the heartbreaking toll Alzheimerâs disease has taken on his wife â and their entire family. In an emotional extract from Fionaâs forthcoming memoir Remember When: My Life With Alzheimerâs, Martin revealed they are âslowly saying goodbye to the woman they loveâ, describing her decline as a âliving griefâ.
Fiona, the former GMTV host, was diagnosed with the progressive brain disorder in 2022 at the age of just 61. Now 64, she requires daily support from Martin, who left his role as editor of ITVâs This Morning to care for her full-time.
âBit by bit, it takes everything,â Martin wrote. âEven the most glamorous, glittering star â such as Fiona was â will be wiped away.â

He revealed how he and their sons, Nathaniel, 26, and Mackenzie, 23, are enduring the slow pain of watching the vibrant woman they knew fade away. âOn top of the stress, the boys and I are enduring a kind of living grief â a slow goodbye.â
Martinâs caregiving role is relentless. He now handles everything from household chores to Fionaâs personal care â helping her shower, brush her teeth, and dress. âShe can physically do these things,â he explained, âbut her brain no longer knows how.â

He described the challenge of balancing practical care with emotional devastation. âThere were times I felt drained, physically and emotionally,â he admitted. âThe worst thing would be for her to get something as simple as a tooth infection while so vulnerable.â
Fionaâs condition also impacted their marriage long before diagnosis. She recalled feeling disconnected and exhausted, unaware of the reason. âMartin once told me, âYouâve totally zoned out of our family and our marriage.â And Iâd shout back, âDonât be so ridiculous!â But deep down, he was right.â

At one point, Martin even considered moving out â a moment that brought their hidden struggles to the surface. âMaybe this â our marriage â is whatâs making you so tired,â he told her at the time.
Despite their enduring love, Martin expressed painful truths in the memoir. âBeing brutally honest, I wish Fiona had contracted cancer instead. At least with cancer, thereâs a treatment plan, support networks, hope. With Alzheimerâs, thereâs none of that. No remission. No care packages. No smiling survivors.â
Today, Martin says his role is to make Fiona feel safe â even if it means doing it all alone. âIf I were to fall ill,â he wrote, âthe whole house of cards would collapse. Iâve had to stay well. For her.â
