Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Has Been Diagnosed With Dementia

Dementia affects millions of Americans, and that now includes Rosalynn Carter, one of the country’s most beloved first ladies, her family has announced.

“We recognize, as she did more than half a century ago, that stigma is often a barrier that keeps individuals and their families from seeking and getting much-needed support,” The Carter Center said in a statement on Tuesday. “We hope sharing our family’s news will increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor’s offices around the country.”

The health update comes three months after the center said that her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, had entered hospice care at their home in Plains, Ga., after deciding to end medical intervention. 

Here’s what we know about Rosalynn’s diagnosis and how her family hopes to preserve her legacy. 

What was Rosalynn Carter diagnosed with?

The Carter Center stated that the former first lady had been diagnosed with dementia, which leads to the loss of memory, language, and ability to make decisions. But the Carter Center didn’t offer further details about her specific diagnosis or her condition. 

What we do know, though, is that like heart disease, dementia isn’t a single condition — it covers a wide range of brain disorders, including the most common one, Alzheimer’s. And it’s more common than you might think — as the center pointed out in its statement, 1 in 10 U.S. adults ages 65 and older have dementia.

Is Rosalynn Carter under care?

The Carter Center said Rosalynn “continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones.” It’s only fitting that the couple remain at each other’s side — after all, they’ve been together for quite literally a lifetime, and they have a love story for the ages. 

Though their introduction didn’t seem important at the time, the couple first met in 1927, when Rosalynn was just a newborn and Jimmy was only 3 years old. They would end up growing up together before later tying the knot in 1946.

Now, the Carters, who have been married for more than 75 years, boast the longest presidential marriage in U.S. history, and they’ve overcome several health crises along the way. In 2015, Jimmy Carter was diagnosed and treated for a dangerous form of skin cancer known as melanoma, which spread to his brain and liver. Then, shortly before entering hospice in February 2023, he broke his hip after falling in the couple’s home. 

Despite these health challenges, the former president said his love for Rosalynn and the couple’s bond has only deepened in the decades they’ve been together. “We have grown closer to each other,” Jimmy told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2021. “We’ve learned from each other and we have learned to accommodate each other’s idiosyncrasies.” 

How is this part of Rosalynn Carter’s larger legacy?

Rosalynn Carter has been a proponent of mental health for much of her life. She first started her advocacy in the Georgia Governor’s Mansion, then in the White House, and later at The Carter Center, where she continued to push for improved access to care and decreased stigma about issues surrounding mental health. At one point, Jimmy said she even “helped persuade the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control to include mental health on their agendas.”

Despite her condition, her work continues today. In the announcement announcing her condition, the Carter Center noted her support of caregivers through her non-profit, the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers. 

“As the founder of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, Mrs. Carter often noted that there are only four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers; those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers,” the statement read. “The universality of caregiving is clear in our family, and we are experiencing the joy and the challenges of this journey.”