Jon Snow's wife Dr Precious Lunga has revealed that they felt people “struck him off” after his dementia diagnosis. The former Channel 4 News presenter, 78, disclosed this month that he has been living with Alzheimer's since 2023.
Stigma and Fear
Speaking on Woman's Hour, Dr Lunga, 51, said: “We felt people were striking Jon off. We felt that certainly. It wasn't really due to malice, but a lack of understanding and knowledge about what happens when you have dementia. I think people are also fearful of Alzheimer's because we fear we might get it ourselves, and with fear comes stigma. With stigma you either want to look away or cover up, but making this film … we wanted people to start having a conversation and dialogue about this.”
Why Go Public?
Explaining why her husband decided to share his diagnosis publicly in the Channel 4 documentary Jon Snow: A Last Big Story, airing this weekend, Dr Lunga said: “He said ‘if I don't speak out who will?’ It is something that affected his own mother and affects so many people. He felt that when someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's they are written off, but it's not like you fall off a cliff. It's a gradual degradation of the brain. It doesn't mean you still can't contribute to the world and he felt he still had so much to give, which is why he decided to make this documentary.”
Retirement and Diagnosis
After Snow retired in 2021, his wife explained he went into a “deep depression” for around six months. “As he was coming out of that, I noticed he was more forgetful and, as a neuroscientist, I thought something was going on,” she said. Dr Lunga initially “burst into tears” when they received the news. “It is a shock when you receive that information and it upended all our plans post-retirement for Jon, and we had to accept our lives were changing.”
Living with Dementia
Although she had reservations about taking part in the documentary, she said: “What helped me overcome it was the fact I am one of over one million people affected by dementia. That helped me get over the nervousness of telling our story. It is not the end and we are looking for opportunities to enjoy our life.” Dr Lunga added that they initially faced “confusion” and had to “process” their new reality, saying: “It's not just about surviving – it's about how we can live and thrive. We tend to live in the moment more now too. He is now very present when he's there. Finding that balance is a constant juggle though.”
Snow and his wife have been married since 2010 and share a son, who was born in 2021. Jon Snow: A Last Big Story airs at 8pm on Saturday, June 20 on Channel 4.
