Robin Williams' widow says 'we were living a nightmare' in first interview about his death

 

Robin Williams' widow, Susan, has publicly spoken about her husband's suicide for the first time in an exclusive interview with ABC News, part of which aired today on "Good Morning America."

Susan Williams spoke candidly with ABC's Amy Robach about Robin's battle with anxiety, depression, and paranoia. She emotionally described her final evening with her husband and revealed that she doesn't blame her husband for his suicide. 

"And I got to tell him, 'I forgive you 50 billion percent, with all my heart. You're the bravest man I've ever known.' You know, we were living a nightmare," she said.

Robin was diagnosed with early stages of Parkinson's disease in May, but the couple was unaware that he was also suffering from Lewy body dementia, which is the third most common type of progressive dementia after Alzheimer's disease and vascular dimentia, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

"Lewy body dementia killed Robin. It's what took his life, and that's what I've spent the last year trying to get to the bottom of," she said. Though he was fighting against the symptoms, Susan said he was losing control. "It was like the dam broke," she said of his last month.

Robin and his doctors had been planning on checking him into a facility to undergo neurocognitive testing the week of his death.

The full interview will air tonight on "World News Tonight with David Muir" and "Nightline." It will also air in its entirety Friday on "The View."

Watch part of the interview below: