If Jean-Pierre Pernaut had retired in 2020, bothered by health problems (in particular his lung cancer), Catherine Laborde had stopped a few years earlier. Indeed, she has not worked since 2017 due to a very serious and incurable disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, which causes her to suffer the same symptoms as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s combined.
Extremely rare in the media since her withdrawal to take care of her health, the 70-year-old ex-presenter had nevertheless granted an interview to the magazine seven to eight in 2018 to explain how her incurable disease has handicapped her since 2014, preventing her from writing or wearing high-heeled shoes.
In May 2020, she gave her last interview, saying that she is still in contact with Evelyne Dhéliat and Harry Roselmack, but also with her sister, Françoise, with whom she is now reconciled. “I fight, I don’t give up“, had explained this eternal optimist, explaining to go to the speech therapist and to follow many appointments so as not to give in to the disease.
“Every day is different, it’s a roller coaster. There are days with and days without. Some days are really difficult and then, totally unexpectedly, I’m going to feel wonderful the next day. I then find everything beautiful and everything makes me smile. When I’m down, I hang on thinking of those fun days that are coming“, she had described.