Natalie Morales is a journalist who has worked with a number of outlets and programs over the years, including Today and The Talk. Recently, she has opened up about brain health, especially when it comes to discussing this concern with your doctor. This was in light of similar health issues within her family.
Natalie Morales Has Become Known For Her Work With NBC News & CBS News
As a journalist, Morales has worked for various outlets. Spending 22 years with NBC News, she served as a West Coast anchor for Today.
Leaving the network in 2021, Morales joined the CBS Daytime talk show, The Talk, as a co-host and moderator until the show’s end in 2024. In 2022, she also started work as a correspondent for CBS News.
Recently, Morales has opened up about the importance of brain health. This comes out as she has become the age her mother-in-law was when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Speaking with People, the 53-year-old journalist shared that her mother-in-law, Kay Rhodes, lived with Alzheimer’s for 17 years before she passed away at the age of 70 in 2017. She talked about noticing early signs, adding that tests were not as extensive as they are now.
According to Morales, Kay had been dealing with memory issues. This included repeating herself and getting lost in the neighborhood. However, the issue that caused the family to have a “lightbulb moment” was when she forgot where she had hidden her wedding bands.
Morales shared, “We had to get new wedding bands. It wasn’t until after she died, when my father-in-law was going through her personal effects, that he found the wedding bands in the back of her sock drawer.”
Kay was officially diagnosed within two years after her symptoms first appeared. At the time, the family did as much as they could to support her. Morales shared, “At that point, there wasn’t really much in the way of disease-modifying therapies or treatments for us. So, what we did as a family was really surrounding Kay with love, offering caregiving support.”
Morales Also Discussed The Importance Of Having Family Discussions About Brain Health
According to the outlet, Morales now works alongside the medicine company Lilly. Through this, she encourages families to talk to medical professionals about the early signs of dementia.
Morales shared, “You have to have those conversations and that’s why I wanted it to be involved. Talk to your doctor. I really want people to feel empowered and not be afraid of what could be a horrific diagnosis.”
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While admitting that she can “laugh” a bit about it, Morales still admitted to feeling unsettled about reaching the age her mother-in-law was when she was diagnosed. She shared, “I mean, I am a perimenopausal woman, and I’m dealing with memory fog, but I’m always asking myself, ‘Is this normal?’ Because again, my mother-in-law was my age. She was 53.”
Morales also emphasized the importance of having family discussions about brain health for future generations. As she noted, “Because early symptomatic has a stronger genetic risk, it’s something that my husband and I talk about with our kids. The importance of brain health, exercising daily, eating and drinking all the right things, exercising our brain as a muscle… These are all things that we need to be more aware of doing.”
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John Witiw has been a writer since at least 2015. He’s covered a variety of topics, especially when it comes to film and television.