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Tags: john lydon | wife | alzheimers

John Lydon on Wife's Alzheimer's Battle: 'I Won't Abandon Her'

john lydon stands on red carpet
John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten arrives at the premiere of Epix's "Punk" at SIR on March 4, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

By    |   Tuesday, 07 September 2021 11:12 AM EDT

John Lydon is getting candid about his wife Nora Forster's dementia.

In an emotional interview with "Good Morning Britain," the former Sex Pistols frontman opened up about how the neurological disorder has impacted both his life and that of his wife of 45-years, explaining that he would remain by Forster's side despite her worsening condition.

"It's come on really strong and really quick," he said, according to the Daily Mail. "You're asked questions of course by the doctors, 'When did the symptoms first start?' But I really don't know as I told the last doctor. She's always been able to lose her keys. Are these indicators?" 

Lydon became Forster's primary caregiver in 2018, after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Speaking about those early signs of forgetfulness, Lydon explained that it was "a symptom of bigger holes in your brain to come."

"They lose the connections and they can't verbalize what it is they feel sometimes, sometimes they can," he said. "Sometimes her memory is lethal ... She can go back 20 years and remember in the greatest detail with complete accuracy. Now that's fascinating. For me it's a journey I have to travel and I'm not going to abandon her."

In his book, "I Could Be Wrong, I Could be Right," Lydon revealed that Forster needed around-the-clock care and wrote that, while it was his duty to look after her, he was "more than happy to do that."

"It’s difficult when there’s a workload, but I have to cope with it," he continued in an excerpt quoted by the Mirror, later adding that he was determined not to put his wife into specialist care. 

"We’re not dealing with the walking dead. It’s a matter of memory fusing in and out," he wrote. "I had those issues when I was younger, coming out of meningitis. So I’m absolutely in the right place for it. It makes us love one another even more, no question."

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Zoe Papadakis

Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.

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TheWire
John Lydon is getting candid about his wife Nora Forster's dementia. In an emotional interview with "Good Morning Britain," the former Sex Pistols frontman opened up about how the neurologic disorder...
john lydon, wife, alzheimers
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2021-12-07
Tuesday, 07 September 2021 11:12 AM
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