Michael J. Fox opens up about how he and wife Tracy Pollan overcame his Parkinson’s disease together.
In the Thursday edition CBS MorningThe 62-year-old actor — who was diagnosed with a progressive brain disorder in 1991 at the age of 29 — spoke about how his wife of 35 years supported him through his health problems.
– It was great for me, I don’t know how it is for her – he said with a laugh. “I love Tracy obviously and she’s an amazing person and she’s been through a lot. I realize she has a life separate from me having Parkinson’s, from me being Alex Keaton or Marty McFly, she’s a person. I think that’s why went well.”
Michael J. Fox Tributes Wife Tracy Pollan on Their 35th Anniversary: ’Forever Yours’
The Back to future star shared that Pollan, 63, kept her marriage vows, but that he would understand if she decided to end the relationship.
“She showed me by saying, for better or for worse, in sickness or in health,” he explained. “She was able to get me through it, and go through it with me. And she’s been doing it for 35 years.”
“We knew the bus was coming and we knew it was going to hit, but we didn’t know how far it was or how fast it was going,” he added. “At any moment she would be forgiven for saying, ‘I’m just going out.’ But she didn’t do that.”
Tracy Pollan and Michael J. Fox attend the A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to Cure Parkinson’s event to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation on November 16, 2019. Noam Galai/Getty Michael J. Fox reflects on his 34-year marriage to Tracy Pollan: ‘ Everything good we do comes from her’
In March, the couple revealed to PEOPLE that they continue to support each other and nurture their relationship.
I think we really listen to each other, we’re there for each other when we need each other, Pollan said. “And then we also give each other space when it’s needed. We just feel like we don’t have what it takes right now and we’re trying to be there.”
The couple married in 1988 and share a son, Sam Michael, 34, twin daughters Aquinnah Kathleen and Schuyler Frances, 28, and a 21-year-old daughter, Esmé Annabelle.
“Tracy gives our family everything we need. Everything good in our family, everything good we do, comes from her,” Fox said.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(719x249:721x251)/schuyler-fox-aquinnah-fox-michael-j-fox-tracy-pollan-sam-michael-fox-michael-j-fox-foundation-for-parkinsons-research-gala-103122-1-fc88efe2d92148919d7da76f7916a84c.jpg)
Schuyler Fox, Aquinnah Fox, Michael J. Fox, Tracy Pollan and Sam Michael Fox attend A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to Cure Parkinson’s 2022 Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for the Michael J. Fox Foundation Michael J. Fox’s 4 children: All what to know
While accepting the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in November 2022, Fox reflected on his harrowing journey with Parkinson’s disease.
“I was told I only had ten more years to work. That was s—ty. That’s what happened,” Fox said, in part, while accepting his award. “The hardest part of my diagnosis was wrestling with the certainty of the diagnosis and the uncertainty of the situation.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“I only knew it would get worse. The diagnosis was definite, but the progress was vague and uncertain. [My wife Tracy] made it clear that she was with me the whole time,” he continued. “Then I went into seven years of denial, trying to make sense of it all. The kid who left Canada convinced that he would achieve anything, if only with hard work and faith, now had a big task ahead of him.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education