‘Shark Tank’ Star Barbara Corcoran Opens Up About Husband’s Alzheimer’s Battle

Businesswoman Barbara Corcoran has been opening up about her husband Bill Higgins’ battle with Alzheimer’s disease, and how caring for her late mother, Florence, helped prepare her.

Speaking with Parade, the Shark Tank star recalled how she and her nine siblings took care of their mother after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2003; she died nine years later at age 87. This experience provided lessons that Corcoran has been able to apply when it comes to her husband’s own fight with the disease.

“My husband has Alzheimer’s, and he’s [currently] living in the memory ward of an extended care home, and it’s an extremely difficult journey,” she told the outlet. “I think because I had my mother go through this journey earlier, I’m a great mate to give him everything that he needs. I feel a lot better about it.”

The biggest lesson she learned was to “get in their world,” rather than trying to force them into the present. “My husband doesn’t know who I am; he’s still back in Annapolis playing football, so I bring football photos and put them on his wall,” Corcoran shared. “I ask him to tell me about his plays. He has a great memory for what he did on the football field.”

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The real estate mogul said this approach allows her to have “a communication” with her husband, “rather than what I was doing years ago with my mother, which was trying to bring her back to the real world. It never really worked.”

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Back in April, Corcoran spoke with KSL TV about her experience caring for her mother, noting that as the disease progressed, she developed a separate condition called agitation in Alzheimer’s dementia. “She would cry all the time. She was irritable, angry, restless, wandering, shouting, aggressive,” Corcoran said.

She and her siblings divided responsibilities when it came to caregiving, but the situation was challenging. “It was sad watching someone degenerating into a person that we didn’t know,” Corcoran added.

The popular TV personality also said there needs to be more resources for caregivers, stating, “I don’t think awareness is enough.”

“I think you need knowledge,” she continued. “I think you need to know what’s going on, what your options are [and] how you could best help. Get all the information you need so there’s no need to go through it alone.”