Fiona Phillips' devoted husband, Martin Frizell, said he was "touched" while sharing a new update on his wife, and former GMTV star.
Taking to his Instagram account, the former This Morning producer shared a glowing photograph of his beloved wife from a recent stroll in London, revealing he was moved by fans asking about her while in Scotland. Fiona was sadly diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the incurable brain disorder that causes a decline in memory, thinking and behaviour in 2022.
In the update, Fiona was beaming, eating a white chocolate Magnum, a "simple pleasure" as Martin describes, but one he says is "a highlight of the day."
Accompanying the image were the words: "Very touched by many nice comments from folk asking about Fiona whilst I’m on our short Tartan Noir Scottish tour, so here’s a picture of what she’s up to in my absence - she’s changed Magnum flavours!
© PA Images via Getty Images"This was Fiona out in the London sunshine this week, and Almond has been replaced by the white chocolate version. Simple pleasures, but a highlight of the day."
Martin's followers immediately jumped to the comments to share their kind messages. Fiona's former ITV colleague Lorraine Kelly penned: "Looking gorgeous," alongside a red love heart emoji.
Lisa Snowdon echoed her sentiments, simply replying to the photograph with two red love heart emojis, as did Davina McCall, who commented: "Huge love [red love heart emoji]."
Life at home
Back in February, Martin sat down with Lorraine and got into the emotional details of Fiona's condition, while promoting the update of Fiona's book, Remember When, shared how her health impacted her entire family.
"It's wretched. I use the word wretched because I think it's applicable to what we're going through, not just for her, but family and the people around her as well," he said.
He also revealed the things that make Fiona feel safe, including music from her teenage years, such as the Stylistics, Sting, and Rod Stewart. "When she was in Hollywood as a showbiz reporter, she interviewed Rod, quite a few times; they got to know each other, he would call her 'Dorris', and I think she's a contender for Marvin and Rochelle's (Humes) hitlist," because of her musical knowledge.
"I used to say it's not me that needs to be asked if I'm ok, it's not me that has the diagnosis. I've gone back to broadcasting, doing stuff ourselves and podcasting," he said.
"I can free myself up for eight days in April to go on tour - I haven't been away from home for more than three days in two years. I feel guilty being here and not with her," he said, as he confessed he finds it hard being away from her.
Heartbreakingly, Martin added, "She's still there day by day, but we can see her slipping away. And to sit there and see someone who was the most dynamic, bubbly, whip-smart kind of woman, who had so much pride in how she dressed and what she did…I think part of her depression now is what she's going through is the loss of dignity."
