Martin Frizell, the husband of former GMTV host Fiona Phillips, has revealed that the couple were living “separate lives” in the years leading up to her Alzheimer’s diagnosis. In his wife’s new memoir, Remember When: My Life With Alzheimer's, Frizell described a period from around 2015 when the pair struggled to communicate.
“Nothing I could say seemed to help,” Frizell said, according to an extract obtained by the Daily Mail. “We were barely talking and while we were still in the same house we were living quite separate lives.” He recalled long silences in the evenings and initially believed their relationship had simply “run its course” as their children entered their teens.
Phillips, 64, announced her diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s in 2023, having initially attributed her symptoms to menopause. Since then, Frizell has taken over all household responsibilities, from paying bills to chores, and has hired a trained carer to assist. He stepped down as editor of ITV’s This Morning in November 2024 to prioritise caring for his wife.
Frizell now helps Phillips with daily tasks such as brushing her teeth, showering, dressing, eating and drinking. On difficult days, she has experienced “extreme confusion” and asked to see her late parents. Phillips lost her mother to Alzheimer’s in 2006.
Despite her condition, Phillips remains active, telling The Mirror: “I’m still here, getting out and about, meeting friends for coffee, going for dinner with Martin, and walking every day.”
