It's been over a year since beloved comedian Robin Williams' untimely death, a suicide that came after a decades-long battle with depression. Now Williams' wife Susan Schneider has spoken about their relationship and his passing for the first time in a taped interview that aired on Good Morning America Tuesday.
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Schneider revealed in the full interview that Williams was diagnosed after his death with Lewy Body Dementia, which causes a decline in mental and physical faculties. Before his death, his symptoms led to a diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. She and Williams started seeing the first symptoms in Nov. 2013, including various types of physical pain, mood swings, and erratic thoughts.
"It's one minute, totally lucid," she said. "And then, five minutes later, he would say something that wasn't — it didn't match."
Before Williams' death, he was scheduled to undertake neurocognitive testing to help doctors further understand the problem.
"He was aware" that something was wrong, Schneider said. "He was keeping it together as best as he could, but the last month he could not. It was like the dam broke. I think he was just saying no and I don't blame him one bit."