FIONA Phillips hid her devastating Alzheimer's Disease diagnosis from her sons for fear they would be "embarrassed" and treat her "differently."
Fiona yesterday made public how she had been diagnosed with the condition aged 61.
The TV star, now 62, said she is "heartbroken" at having the same condition that has devastated her family.
Now she has revealed how and why she kept her condition hidden from her sons Nat, 24, and Mackenzie, 21.
The former GMTV presenter – who is married to This Morning producer Martin Frizell – told MirrorOnline it is only now she agreed it was right to tell her brood.
She said: "I just didn’t want to make a big thing out of it where we all sit down as a family and announce we’ve got something to tell them.
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“And I was worried they might be embarrassed in front of their friends or treat me in a different way. And it’s not like I’m doing anything out of character."
The proud mum told how her changes of behaviour were "not profound, they’re not ruining peoples lives."
Both of Fiona's late parents – Neville and Amy – died from Alzheimer's, and she has tragic memories of their deterioration.
The cruel blow, which Fiona has been secretly living with for 18 months, has come earlier in life than she had anticipated.
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Their sons have now had tests to see if they have inherited the disease – which, thankfully, it appears they haven't.
TV producer Martin told the same publication: "When the results came back as negative it was a huge moment – such an enormous sense of relief.
"There’s no Alzheimer’s on my side of the family and thank goodness it seems the boys have not inherited from Fiona’s side of the family."
She has kept her family life relatively private yet did open up on life with two sons recently.
She joked that she is "surrounded by testosterone" at home and "yearns for female company".
In 2013, Fiona joked in The Mirror about her sons' "terrible diet" and "Hulk-like rages"
Fiona suffered from brain fog and extreme anxiety prior to her diagnosis, which was so bad she feared she'd never work on TV again.
She put it down to the effects of the menopause and said she cried "a thousand rivers" and "feared for her sanity".
She is currently taking drugs to slow the illness's progression and is hoping to join a trial programme through University College Hospital for experimental medication Miridesap.
The broadcaster is best known for being the lead anchor, alongside Eamonn Holmes, on GMTV in the 90s and early noughties.
She joined the show in 1993 as entertainment correspondent, but hit the big time when she was promoted to being the ITV breakfast show's main host.
But in August 2008, Fiona announced that she was to leave GMTV for "family reasons".
In a statement released at the time she said it had been "the hardest decision I have ever made".
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She presented her final show on December 18, 2008.
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