Michael Irvin loves his wife through thick and thin.

In the Wednesday, Sept. 3 episode of Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, 59, discussed what it’s like taking care of his wife after she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

“We recognize some things were going wrong with her about 10 years ago, actually,” Irvin told Sharpe of his wife, Sandy Harrell.

The longtime couple met in college and have been married since 1990. They are parents to four children: Myesha Irvin, 35, Chelsea Irvin, 29, Michael Irvin Jr., 28, and Elijah Irvin, 27.

Irvin told Sharpe that their family first thought Harrell was starting menopause, despite two of the people closest to them also having Alzheimer’s.

“I buried my mom. She had Alzheimer’s. My mother-in-law was living with us because she had Alzheimer’s. And we were taking care of her. And now we thought my wife was going through menopause at 49 because she’s coming at 50,” Irvin explained.

After about a year of running tests with doctors, they were finally given a diagnosis.

“So, we had been dealing with this eight, nine years, you know, going back and forth. And… it’s been, what’s difficult is, it’s quite hard to take care of someone 24 hours a day,” the sports commentator said.

Harrell’s changes in mood make it difficult for their family to keep the nurses they hire, Irvin shared.

“I have to keep a 24-hour nurse with her all the time,” he said, noting how Harrell takes her “agitation” out on the medical staff. “She hit you. They take that nurse out, send another nurse, and they put more charges on.”

Though it may be difficult to find consistent in-home care, Irvin told Sharpe he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“But she, if anybody, has earned the right to be in her home. You know what I mean?” Irvin said. “No matter what, she will be in her home.”

Irvin revealed his wife’s diagnosis in a June 2024 interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

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At the time, he also stood firm in his belief that Harrell would never be placed in an assisted living facility.

“That I shall honor. No matter what it takes,” he added.

Younger/early-onset Alzheimer’s is “much less common” and affects people under the age of 65, per the Alzheimer’s Association.

According to the organization, “A comprehensive medical evaluation with a doctor who specializes in Alzheimer’s disease. Getting a diagnosis involves a medical exam and possibly cognitive tests, a neurological exam and/or brain imaging.”