Many people say that love doesn’t last, but a couple in Aberdeen is proving them wrong. After being diagnosed with dementia, a man lost many precious memories, including being married to his wife of 12 years. Thinking his wife his girlfriend, he proposed to her after spending so much time under her care and the couple remarried as a result. (1)
Man With Dementia Proposes To His Wife
Bill and Anne Duncan were married for 12 years when Bill, 71, was diagnosed with dementia. His wife Anne, 69 was one of the memories lost as a result of his illness. During his interactions with Anne, he believed her to be his new girlfriend and he fell in love with her all over again. “We’d been to a family member’s wedding earlier in the month, and clearly it touched Bill as he turned to me not long after and said that he wanted to be with me forever,” says Anne. “He asked me when would we be walking up the aisle together, and I thought he would just forget he’d asked me that, but then the next day he said it again.” (1)
Anne says once he proposed, he began to shower her with affection, “lavishing me in kisses and cuddles.” She was thrilled to have the old Bill back. “Since his diagnosis, his displays of affection have become scarce, so to have all of this love radiating from him towards me has been truly wonderful,” she says. (1)
Man With Dementia Remarries Wife In Backyard
Anne realized they had the perfect opportunity to hold their ceremony in August 2019. “I had some friends coming over on the weekend and thought that would be the perfect time to have our second wedding if Bill still wanted to by then,” she says. “Every day, he asked me about our wedding, and finally on August 17, I walked down the aisle with my wonderful husband, 12 years after our first wedding.” (1)
Their ceremony was held in their back garden, surrounded by friends. “Our friends pitched in to help with decorating the garden and providing a wedding cake, and my daughter Andrea convinced me to get a dress for the day too,” she says. (1)
The weather was perfect, making their wedding all the more memorable. “We renewed our vows surrounded by a small group of our friends and family, and even added some bits in for Bill so it felt like he really was getting married,” she says. (1)
Dementia Diagnosed Three Years Into Marriage
Bill and Anne met back in 2001. At the time Bill was as an Aberdeen entertainer and magician. When they married three years later, Anne started noticing Bill forget things. Anne arranged for them to see the doctor and they soon got the news Bill had dementia. (1)
“Our ceremony in the garden was very emotional, and I’m just so happy that he still loves me this much after all these years of battling dementia,” says Anne. (1)
The couple’s story is a true testament that love conquers all.
