The Loose Women host has had the pain of seeing her father Dennis die with dementia in 2012 whilst her mum Joan now is also living with the disease
Ruth Langsford always looks fresh and awake on morning TV(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Ruth Langsford insists she doesn’t fear getting Alzheimer’s disease like her parents and instead is concentrating on living “a big life” instead. The Loose Women host has had the pain of seeing her father Dennis die with dementia in 2012 whilst her mum Joan now is also living with the disease.
She is now in a care home and sometimes doesn’t recognise Ruth, which she admits is tough. But so far at least Ruth is staying relaxed about the risks of her getting Alzheimer’s disease too.
But writing in her new book about the prospect of getting dementia herself, the ITV star says: “I don’t dwell on whether I will get Alzheimer’s as both my parents did. I don’t want to know if it is in my future – unless they discover a cure for it – and I don’t want to spend my days waiting to see if it’s going to get me.
“Occasionally, my mind will go completely blank, and I forget someone’s name or where I have left my keys, but that could just be a busy brain. Maybe I am tired? What about the menopause? Or just getting older? We all get these moments. I don’t spiral down a hole of fear, because I have a big life to live for as long as I can.”
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Ruth also spoke about the heartbreak she feels leaving her mum in a care home and the difficulty in saying goodbye as her mum doesn’t really understand what is happening.
In a touching chapter of her book, Ruth says: “The thing I find most difficult is leaving her because she doesn’t think she is at home. Before, she understood why she was there but now she doesn’t, and so as I get up to go she thinks she’s coming with me.
“It was so tough for a while, but now we have a routine where one of the carers comes over to take her to the dinner table and I say I have to take the dog out for a walk. I tell her I’ll see her later and leave the room without looking back. I hate it, but I think it’s the kindest way to do it for us both.”
Ruth’s book Feeling Fabulous was released earlier this week and also discusses her career and her image. She admits there are some parts of her body she doesn’t like but is not sure if she will ever have surgery. But she says she definitely won’t be flaunting her body on holidays now she is single.
She writes: “I’m a bit sick of being told to love my body. I will decide if I do or I don’t and at this age, I don’t love it. There, I’ve said it.
“This isn’t just about growing older; I have never been body confident. Even in my youth, I wasn’t a skimpy dresser who was relaxed about displaying lots of cleavage and I never wore really short skirts.
“My idea of a hellish invitation – then and now – would be to a pool party where I might be expected to lounge around in a bikini. Like those Ibiza raves where everyone is bouncing about in thongs the width of dental floss or lazing around in Love Island with a beach ready body. That sort of situation would have me running for the hills. No thank you very much.”
She is very positive about the future though and in an interview earlier this week with the Mirror said: “I can’t believe that here I am with a book I’d never, ever thought I would write a book, but I have.
“I’ve got some trips away planned. I’ve got fabulous things planned for my fashion range at QVC, and also I have an open mind to new things that come might come into my life. Who knows, but I feel 2026 is going to be a good one.”
Feeling Fabulous: Be your best self, no matter what life throws at you by Ruth Langsford is out now, published by Hodder & Stoughton.
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