Key Points

• The View cohost Ana Navarro opened up about her husband Al Cárdenas’ Parkinson’s disease.

• Navarro said the couple doesn’t “want pity” over the diagnosis.

• “He is still living a full life as the same person,” the TV personality and political commentator said on her Bleep! podcast.

The View personality and political commentator Ana Navarro made a rare comment about her husband’s health, sharing news about his life with Parkinson’s disease.

The 54-year-old opened up about her 78-year-old spouse Al Cárdenas’ condition on the latest episode of her Bleep! podcast (below), where she recounted the couple’s life together as Cárdenas battles the disease that the Mayo Clinic describes as a “movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time.”

“It is very personal, and it’s something I’ve not wanted to talk about for many reasons,” Navarro said, adding that Cárdenas was diagnosed “earlier this summer,” and that the couple were inspired to speak up and “destigmatize” the disease after singer-songwriter Carly Simon also went public with her diagnosis earlier this year.

Navarro said that the pair initially “didn’t want to go public with it because of the way that Parkinson’s patients get treated,” adding that “the first words that come out of people’s mouths is, ‘Oh, I am so sorry.’ That’s not what you want to hear when you’re a Parkinson’s patient or a loved one.”

Navarro said that “folks don’t want compassion, they don’t want sympathy, they don’t want to be treated differently” because of their disease, which she said doesn’t define Cárdenas.

“They want [you] to treat them like you did before you knew they had it. They want you to continue including them, to continue inviting them, to continue relying on them, to continue talking to them,” Navarro explained.

She didn’t shy away from revealing that “there are issues with Parkinson’s” that her husband goes through, including tremors, stiffness, and difficulty swallowing, as well as bouts with depression, anxiety, and sleeplessness that can occur in patients.

Navarro reflected on “noticing over two years ago that Al was a little more unstable on his feet,” and that she noticed a “heaviness in his walk” and trembling hands that prompted her to ask him to get a medical evaluation. She particularly wanted him to get tested after he previously recovered from several surgeries, COVID-19, and cancer — the diagnosis for which she called “easier” because of the definitive prognosis doctors can give, versus the uncertain nature of the way Parkinson’s disease progresses.

Now, Navarro said her husband’s symptoms “are practically unnoticeable” thanks to treatment, despite “very tough days” here and there.

She finished the segment by urging others not to treat those with Parkinson’s any differently than they would otherwise.

“Call them, invite them, talk to them like you always did. Don’t talk to them differently,” she implored. “Don’t make that the only thing you talk about. Don’t make that the only thing you share. They have full lives. My husband is working on a book, he’s active, he goes to the gym every day. Exercise makes a difference. Having infrastructure, friends, family, and loved ones you can rely on and share with [are important].”

For those questioning a medical visit, Navarro concluded by encouraging them: “Go get yourself tested. Don’t be afraid of the diagnosis. Getting the diagnosis is the start of getting treatment, and getting treatment makes all the difference.”

In an Instagram post after the episode went live, Navarro wrote in the caption a similar sentiment: “Whenever we share that Al has Parkinson’s, we don’t want pity. We don’t want tears or premature condolences. We want you to understand that some days are challenging, that some activities are challenging, but that he is still living a full life as the same person.”

Navarro and her husband married in 2019, and she regularly speaks about him on The View. Together, they also share a dog, ChaCha, who’s repeatedly referenced on the daytime talk show and its companion Behind the Table podcast.

Listen to Navarro discuss her husband’s Parkinson’s disease in the Bleep! podcast episode above.