‘Love is a decision’: Husband loves his wife even more after early-onset Alzheimer’s

For nearly 30 years, José Ignacio and Claudia Celis built a marriage filled with joys, children, shared projects, and the difficulties inherent in life together. But about six years ago, an unexpected trial arose: Claudia was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 44.

Since then, José Ignacio has had to learn a new way of loving, one that is deeper and more self-sacrificing, reaffirming his vocation and his desire to reach heaven together with Claudia.

“I am a man eternally in love with his wife, a family man who, before being in love with his wife, is a child of God who has found answers to many questions along the way, precisely through suffering,” he recounted in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.

José Ignacio and Claudia Celis today. | Credit: Photo courtesy of José Ignacio and Claudia Celis

Claudia’s illness has changed many things in their marriage, but, he affirmed, it has not changed the promise they made on their wedding day.

“Love is a decision. Love is not a feeling. Love is a decision, and you have to decide to love every day,” he emphasized.

For him, their story is an opportunity to speak about…