Martin Frizell has shared a devastating update on the health of his wife, Fiona Phillips, revealing that the former GMTV star, now 65, is living with the advanced stages of early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Fiona was diagnosed in 2022, a cruel echo of family history after both of her parents also suffered from the disease — a battle she once fought alongside them until their deaths. Now, as Martin prepares to release an updated edition of their joint memoir Remember When, he has admitted he is increasingly fearful about what lies ahead.
Speaking candidly, Martin Frizell revealed that Fiona’s condition has worsened significantly since the book was first published last summer. Alongside severe memory loss, she is also enduring constant, unexplained pain — something that has troubled her for months despite repeated medical investigations.
On the way to see a specialist, Martin described how everyday journeys have become overwhelming. He explained that Fiona can no longer understand where she is going or why, repeatedly asking what is happening “four or five times a minute on loop for the entire journey.” Driving or taking public transport is no longer possible, he added.
Most heartbreakingly, Martin admitted he is now questioning how much longer he can continue caring for Fiona at home. “How long can we keep and care for my beautiful wife at home? What happens next?” he asked, laying bare the emotional toll of being both husband and full-time carer.
Fiona has now lost the ability to write or operate a phone and often struggles to identify where the music she loves is coming from. Following medical advice, she spends much of her time resting or sleeping, as her energy levels continue to decline.
A Moving Moment of Support
After Remember When was released, Martin said messages of support poured in — including an unexpected letter from Kate McCann.
Martin revealed that Kate wrote warmly about Fiona, recalling her as “a warm, bubbly and capable lady,” and expressing confidence that those qualities had helped her through life. He later learned that Kate, herself a doctor, had spent nearly a decade working in NHS memory services, inspired by her own father’s dementia.
When Martin read the letter aloud, Fiona briefly emerged from the fog of Alzheimer’s. She remembered Madeleine McCann, became visibly emotional, and — for a fleeting moment — was once again the empathetic GMTV presenter and mother figure who had met the McCanns several times.
Fiona’s Diagnosis
Fiona publicly shared her Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2022, describing how the disease had already “ravaged” her family before quietly adding: “And now it has come for me.”
