Patrika Darbo opened up on her friends' fashion podcast show.
Patrika Darbo is beloved by daytime fans for her portrayals of Nancy on Days of our Lives and Shirley on Bold and the Beautiful. Now, the actress’s fans are sending her love and support in light of her revealing her husband’s heartbreaking medical condition.
Recently, Darbo appeared on the podcast Undressed With Pol’ and Patrik, hosted by married duo and celebrity fashion icons Pol’ Atteu and Patrik Simpson. The interview was a reunion as Darbo had appeared on two episodes of Gown and Out in Beverly Hills (Prime Video), which was created and hosted by Pol’ and Patrik.
The fan-favorite recounted her daytime career, which started off when she played Sally on General Hospital, who worked at Duke’s nightclub, which was owned and operated by Duke (Ian Buchanan) and Felicia (Kristina Wagner).
Darbo joined the cast of DAYS in 1998 as wickedly devious Nancy, who conspired with her then-husband Craig (Kevin Spirtas) against Mike Horton (Roark Critchlow). In 2000, Darbo received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for playing Nancy, a role she’s reprised on and off over the years. She went on to win a Primetime Emmy in 2016 in the category of Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her role as Margot Mullen in Acting Dead. When Darbo accepted her Emmy, she was wearing a Pol Atteu custom gown.
As the interview continued, Darbo opened up about her beloved husband Rolf Darbo’s Alzheimer’s disease. “My husband’s been diagnosed that he’s not well,” an emotional Darbo revealed. “He’s informed me that he doesn’t want to travel. He wants to just be home. He’s in the beginning [stages].”
Simpson was especially able to connect with Darbo on this emotional topic as he had lost his mother, Barbara Simpson, to Alzheimer’s in 2022. The actress says the most difficult part has been not having her partner in life be the same as he once was. “I’ve always been the actor bringing in the money [while] he’s always been my business manager,” shares the actress. “I am computer illiterate.”
As a result, Darbo said she’s had to try to adjust and tap into different mindsets so she can take over the business end of her career. “I’m trying to take that big room that’s got everything going on [in it] back to a small room to where I know what’s going on,” she says.
As difficult as this time is, Darbo says she’s trying to focus on the positives. “I’m very blessed in that he still knows who I am,” she says. “To be really frank, at this point, I wish he’d die of a heart attack because the hardest part of this is to see the one that you love who is so bright and wonderful and [who] knows everything to [being someone who does] not remember where I am right now.”
As Marla Adams, whose character Dina on Young and the Restless died of Alzheimer’s disease, often said, there needs to be a focus on the caregivers. “It’s important that we’re taking care of one another,” Darbo concurs. “To anyone who faces this kind of thing…you have to have patience, and the person [who’s suffering] is not doing anything on purpose.” Soap Hub is keeping both Patrika and Rolf Darbo in our thoughts at this difficult time. Check out the entire podcast below.
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