B. Smith, a lifestyle guru often compared to Martha Stewart, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease six years ago. Her husband Dan Gasby, who has acted as her caretaker since then, landed himself in hot water after making his extramarital affair public. Many cite their belief in the sanctity of marriage as the reason for their disapproval. Others claim his relationship with his girlfriend Alex Lerner should have been kept private given Smith's mental condition in addition to the values upon which she built her career.
Since the scandal, all three parties have participated in the creation of a video published alongside an article in The Washington Post on January 28. Here's an excerpt.
“Hellllllo!” B. said as she shuffled over to Alex, whom she has come to know only as her friend.
“How are you?” Alex, 53, asked warmly. She has a room in this house, where she stays when she makes the roughly two-hour drive from her Manhattan home.
“Wait, wait, wait, lemme, Barbara,” B. said, wrapping Alex in a hug. “I was talking over there, with the baby . . . that was caught late . . . she’s a little, you know. We were there, we played candy, we do it all the time.”
Alex smiled and nodded, though she knew there was no baby. B. is still a charmer, quick to join conversations, full of laughter. But her sentences are often just words, incongruously strung together.
When faced with the backlash for his decisions, Dan Gasby lashed out at his critics:
NEWSFLASH!
To the nickel & dime PayPal thot troll named after two European cities B lived in and all of us have travelled too extensively, to the writer and editor at The Neg-Grio! Who ginned up controversy by covertly spewing racist innuendo, to the bloggers who wallow in the mud and filth of lies, to the idiots and ignorant people calling for my arrest and saying B is or has ever been abused I only wish someone in your immediate family has Alzheimer’s so you can see feel and experience the pain of millions of people across this country so you can know first hand what it’s like to care 24/7/365 for someone who can no longer care for themselves!
And last of all but to me least of all to those religious Neanderthal who judge as if Jesus was a ball and God is a bat swinging wildly and judging harshly I say to you!
BSmith’s worst day is 10x better than you’ve experienced.
I love my wife but I can’t let her take away my life!
5-10 years from now when many of you who will have an almost predestined meeting with Alzheimer’s because of genetics, obesity, and a myriad of inflammatory diseases, you’ll be wishing for someone to share moments with and ease the pain of loneliness and despair.
The clock is ticking I know I can and have manage this but can you do it too?
In 2016, Smith and Gasby published their co-written book, Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help, and Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimer's.