Actor Russell Andrews Reveals ALS Diagnosis as His Fiancée-Turned-Caregiver Says, ‘I Still Want to Be Your Wife’

NEED TO KNOW

• Russell Andrews revealed his ALS diagnosis during a CNN interview on May 16 alongside his fiancée, actress Erica Tazel

• Andrews said he was diagnosed in the fall of 2025 after symptoms like “twitches” and not being “able to do things that I normally do”

• Tazel, who will become Andrews’ caretaker, shared what the couple’s journey since Andrews’ diagnosis has taught her about love

Russell Andrews has been diagnosed with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease

The 64-year-old actor, known for his roles in Straight Outta Compton and Better Call Saul, shared that he was diagnosed with the fatal disease publicly for the first time on CNN’s The Story Is with Elex Michaelson on Saturday, May 16. He made the announcement alongside his fiancée, actress Erica Tazel.

“I am a person living with ALS,” Andrews told Michaelson while seated beside Tazel, who CNN reported will be taking on the role of caregiver.

ALS destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing muscle weakness, slurred speech and eventual paralysis, per the Mayo Clinic. There’s no cure for ALS, and people usually live three to five years after diagnosis, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. However, some patients can live decades.

“I was diagnosed in the late fall of last year,” Andrews said on The Story, before sharing the community he and Tazel have found with nonprofit ALS Network. “And it’s been humbling but there’s… Elex, there’s also something in the fact that I walked into a family of very caring people I did not know a year ago — the cliché family, but they have not let us miss a step in terms of care, the attention, the awareness and the ability to get me here today.”

Asked about his symptoms, Andrews revealed that initially, he thought he suffered a stroke during the COVID pandemic, and he shared some of the early signs he might have had ALS.

“It was a stressful time. We didn’t work for three years, about, and then we had the back-to-back strikes and so a lot was going on,” he said, seemingly referring to the historic 2023 actors’ strike. At the time, Andrews said he suffered the occasional “twitches,” and thought he “was having pinched nerves in my neck.”

Then, the Insecure actor recalled, “I was not able to do things that I normally do,” adding, “I was dropping cups and glasses at night. It felt like things were running up and down my arm at different times and it was the nerves.”

Russell Andrews in 2019
Credit: Tibrina Hobson/Getty

“It took him longer to clean the pool,” Tazel recalled of how ALS began manifesting in her actor fiancé. “The way he walked, there was just the subtle little things like that and I had questions. I was like, ‘Something is definitely wrong.’ ”

Russell said he lost his insurance while out of work during the strike, but as soon as he had insurance again, he saw a doctor. “Within 15 minutes, the primary care [physician] said she would like me to see a neurologist,” he said. “One thing led to another.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Recalling Andrews’ diagnosis, Tazel, for her part, told Michaelson, “I was uncharacteristically calm and in a way, it was an answer to a lot of questions that we had.”

“[There] was not a sigh of relief, but some understanding of what was happening,” she recalled. “And I looked at him across the room and I said, ‘At least now we know what it is, and I still want to be your wife.’ ”

As for what her fiancé’s ALS journey has taught her about love, the actress said, “That there are cases where it is truly unconditional.”

Read the original article on People