Jon Snow’s wife has revealed that she ‘burst into tears’ when the former Channel 4 News presenter was diagnosed with dementia, and vowed that ‘it is not the end’ for her husband
Precious Lunga and Jon Snow in 2015(Image: Getty Images)
Jon Snow‘s wife, Dr Precious Lunga, has shared her emotional reaction to his dementia diagnosis, as she promised fans that this was ‘not the end’ for the presenter.
Snow, a former Channel 4 News presenter, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2023, but only revealed it to fans this month ahead of the release of his documentary Jon Snow: A Last Big Story, which airs this weekend.
Speaking on Woman’s Hour, Dr Lunga said she cried when her husband was first diagnosed. She described how she “burst into tears” and said: “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.”
The neuroscientist also shared that she thought people were “striking Jon off” and blamed that on existing stigmas about dementia. “We felt people were striking Jon off. We felt that certainly,” she explained.
“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.”
According to Dr Lunga, Snow wanted to make his new Channel 4 documentary about his health battle because he wanted to address the stigma. “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.”
Dr Lunga had some reservations about taking part, but ultimately decided to appear in the film alongside her husband. She added that she had to “overcome” the “nervousness of telling our story” by accepting that she is “one of over one million people affected by dementia”.
She continued to say that “it is not the end” for Jon and that they are still “looking for opportunities to enjoy our life”. “It’s not just about surviving – it’s about how we can live and thrive,” she went on. “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 Lunga have been married since 2010 and share a son together, who was born in 2021 via surrogacy, when he was 73 and she was 46. Snow was previously married to lawyer Madeleine Colvin, with whom he has two daughters.
If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Dementia UK.
For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
