Fiona Phillips has revealed why she hid her Alzheimer’s diagnosis from her two sons.
The ITV presenter, 62, bravely shared her diagnosis publicly after receiving the news herself last year at the age of 61.
Fiona – known for presenting GMTV back in the 1990s – was initially reluctant to tell anyone out of the fear of people ‘putting labels’ on her.
However, she accepts that she can no longer hide the disease.
Speaking to The Mirror, the columnist, who shares two sons with This Morning boss Martin Frizell, explained that she was insistent on keeping Nat, 24, and Mackenzie, 21, in the dark for months.
It was only recently, ahead of her tell-all interview being published, that she agreed they needed to know after most likely already seen changes in her.
‘I just didn’t want to make a big thing out of it where we all sit down as a family and announce we’ve got something to tell them,’ she told the publication.
‘And I was worried they might be embarrassed in front of their friends or treat me in a different way. And it’s not like I’m doing anything out of character.’
Husband Martin added: ‘But there are episodes of forgetfulness and memory lapse.’
‘But they’re not profound, they’re not ruining people’s lives,’ Fiona argued, to which Martin agreed.
The 2005 Strictly Come Dancing star went on to share that, after receiving her own diagnosis, both she and Martin had blood tests to see if their children would inherit the disease.
Alzheimer’s runs in Fiona’s family, as she lost both her mum and dad to it.
‘We wanted to know in case we needed to prepare the boys to make some difficult decisions later in life,’ Martin explained.
‘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.’
Also, in the interview, the former Loose Woman said that she felt ‘angrier than anything else’ due to the disease already having impacted her family life.
‘My poor mum was crippled with it, then my dad, my grandparents, my uncle. It just keeps coming back for us,’ she said.
Though she has kept the news private for 18 months, Fiona said she had decided to share her story to help end the stigma around Alzheimer’s.
‘There is still an issue with this disease that the public thinks of old people, bending over a stick, talking to themselves,’ she said.
‘But I’m still here, getting out and about, meeting friends for coffee, going for dinner with Martin, and walking every day.’
She is taking part in clinical trials at University College Hospital in London, which aim to revolutionize future treatment.
