Retired journalist Fiona Phillips no longer wants to talk about Alzheimer’s disease, her husband Martin Frizell has said.
The 65-year-old was diagnosed with the progressive, neurodegenerative brain disorder in 2022 and she is “slipping away” each day.
Last year, she openly discussed her health in her book titled Remember When: My Life with Alzheimer’s.
However, her husband spoke about her decision during an appearance on Good Morning Britain, explaining that she no longer wishes to discuss the illness.
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Mr Frizell said: “The book that she wrote last year was … she absolutely was talking about it.
“But now her way of dealing with it, and everyone is different, is she doesn’t want to talk about the A-word.
“And we don’t.”
He also described how Ms Phillips now believes she has chronic depression, which he said is “another symptom of it as well.”
Earlier this month, Mr Frizell told viewers of Lorraine that Fiona no longer remembers Christmas 2025.
“I want to go home.” It’s not uncommon for someone living with dementia to say that they want to go home, however it can be distressing, both for the person with dementia and their carers. It can be hard to know what to say, which is why we wanted to share a few things to keep… pic.twitter.com/cErGprXFqw
— Alzheimer’s Society (@alzheimerssoc) February 19, 2026
He said: “She doesn’t remember Christmas now, she doesn’t remember New Year.
“I don’t want to give the impression she’s some sort of basket case.
“She’s very much with us.
“She is still the world’s most stubborn woman and still around the house.”
Mr Frizell said travel has become difficult, adding that he can no longer drive with her or use public transport because she now “rarely understands where she is going or why.”
During a recent journey, he said Fiona was “constantly asking what is happening, probably four or five times a minute on loop for the entire journey.”
He added: “Honestly, I got close to telling the taxi driver to turn around and take us home – Fiona’s only safe place – as the stress was unbearable.
“But of course that self-pity pales into insignificance compared to what Fiona was going through.”
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Mr Frizell said the whole situation has been “wretched” for both Fiona and her family.
He said: “She’s still there, but day by day, we can see it slipping away.
“Just to sit there and see this person who was, as you know, the most dynamic, bubbly, and had so much pride in how she dressed and what she did, it’s just a loss of dignity.