Alzheimer's Disease, Adultery and God's Word

By Angela Wittman

"When B. and I realized what we're dealing with and she understood what the situation is, she said to me… 'I know what I have. I know where it's gonna take me. Tell the story. Tell the truth,'" Gasby recounted. 

In January, he spoke that truth — and let cameras into his home. It's a home he shares with his wife and his girlfriend, Alex Lerner, who also has a bedroom in the house and helps with B.'s care. 

Yesterday morning I happened to catch the segment Falling in love while caring for your spouse with Alzheimer's disease that aired on CBS This Morning.. I watched in amazement as two men whose wives had Alzheimer's Disease (one wife is now deceased) openly discussed having adulterous relationships with other women. Is this now to become a new norm? These men and women feel they shouldn't be judged, and shockingly the news anchors interviewing them seemed to agree.

My father has Alzheimer's Disease and while his memory is almost gone and he is easily confused, he still has feelings, dignity and worth. Even as Dad's disease progresses and eventually reaches the point where I can no longer care for him, he will still be a person with dignity and worth created in the image of God. And this my friends is where the adulterous men with wives with Alzheimer's have greatly erred.

Perhaps they have completely rejected the authority of God's Word for mankind and worship self rather than the Creator; many have done this, but respect for others has completely gone out the window for these men. They no longer see their wives as having worth nor do they respect who they were and who they are. I also wonder about the children of these marriages - what do they think of Dad having an "affair" with their mother's caregiver? Shocking, isn't it? Yet, I submit to you that airing this interview on a morning news show is an attempt to normalize such behaviour (sin).

The men complained of the toll Alzheimer's takes on the caregivers - one man said he sleeps with one eye and one ear open. I do, too. But this is just a season and it will pass as will your loved one. Why not cherish your time left with her and repent of your sin?

May the good Lord open the eyes of men and women to the value and dignity of people made in God's image and then treat them with kindness, love and respect. In Lord Jesus Name, I pray, amen.


*For those who are not familiar with what the Bible says about adultery, please click here.