Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow’s wife Dr Precious Lunga has revealed her husband has felt people ‘struck him off’ after revealing he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease
Jon Snow’s wife, Dr Precious Lunga, has revealed in a recent interview that they felt as though people have “struck him off” after revealing his recent diagnosis.
The former Channel 4 News presenter, 78, revealed earlier this month that has been privately battling Alzheimer’s disease for three years since 2023. He announced the news ahead of the release of his documentary Jon Snow: A Last Big Story, which airs this weekend.
However even in the past few weeks since opening up about his diagnosis, his wife, 51, said on Woman’s Hour: “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.”
The former News presenter’s last broadcast came in 2021 when he was aged 75 and he had fronted Channel 4 News between 1989-2021. He announced the news earlier in June, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail where he told the outlet: “If I speak out, who will?”
In the new interview on Woman’s Hour, Dr Precious added that Jon’s mother dealt with the same thing: “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.”
She also revealed that in 2021, after retiring at the age of 73, he fell into a “deep depression” for almost half of the year, which added to the confusion about his initial diagnosis.
“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.
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.
Alzheimer’s Society is available for information and support on 0333 150 3456 or at alzheimers.org.uk
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