Beloved BBC presenter Alex Jones has opened up about her spouse's heart-rending health ordeal, candidly sharing details of Charlie Thomson's challenging year faced with severe illness.
In a raw admission last year, The One Show host reflected on the "rough period" her husband encountered in 2023, as he grappled with his mental well-being.
The couple, who wed in 2015 and have since had three children, experienced an intense time when Charlie struggled profoundly, becoming barely recognisable, navigating the turbulent waters of Lyme Disease and viral meningitis, which saw him becoming a "shadow of himself", according to Alex.
Taking part in a revealing conversation on Gabby Logan's podcast The MidPoint, Alex extended words of optimism, relaying that Charlie has since turned a corner towards recovery.
She expressed to Gabby: "I think what drives me is the fact that we have got three young children, and I feel, for them, I need to do the best to preserve myself."
Alex further emphasised the importance of a wholesome lifestyle, one that she's adhered to since childhood, courtesy of her parents, but now, with even greater significance, as both she and Charlie concentrate on maintaining robust health through balanced nutrition, reports the .
Adding deeper insight into just how far they've come, Alex confided: "He also wasn't very well last year," prompting Gabby to inquire about his current state.
Gratefully, Alex revealed: "He's good, yes. He's in a way better place now to where we were a year ago but diet has played a huge part in that. We always eat relatively well but he's quite into nutrition."
She revealed: "I think it was a way for him as well to fill his days in a sense when he wasn't feeling well. And he decided to take on this kind of role, right, well, we've got the medication, but I'm going to see what else I can do to help myself. He used to be a chef so cooking and food is very much something he loves and it brings him a lot of joy.
"I'm very lucky he cooks most meals, but I do say it's the glory job because nobody says, 'you stacked that dishwasher so well,' so he does all the cooking but we eat really well."
"Lots of pulses, lots of greens, lots of vegetables, and this thing that was news to me that five to 10 a day isn't enough, it's the variety, eat the rainbow, I say it on a loop to my children," she explained. "Charlie makes all their meals, which is brilliant so they eat really well."
Alex then quipped: "Don't get me wrong Annie was having sugar at six months, Ted didn't even see sugar until he was three."
While she didn't go into specifics about her husband's mental health condition, she did speak on the How To Fail Podcast, where she mentioned he went "downhill fast mentally".
"It's my husband's own story to tell, so I won't go into detail, but he suffers with his mental health and we've just been through a really bad period where, bless him, he had Lyme Disease and then he had viral meningitis. Lots of things happened recently."
If this story has affected you, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch. See www.samaritans.org for more details.
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