Michael J. Fox says he would have forgiven his wife, Tracy Pollan, if she had chosen to leave him after his Parkinson’s diagnosis. The Back to the Future star married Pollan in 1988, and just three years later, at age 29, he was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease. Looking back on their decades together, Fox has openly acknowledged that his illness also changed his wife’s life.

Fox has described Pollan as the person who helped him through some of his most difficult years, but he also emphasized that she has a life and identity beyond being his caregiver. “I love Tracy obviously,” he said, explaining that she is her own person outside of his Parkinson’s diagnosis and the famous characters he played. He said their relationship endured because she made a conscious choice to remain beside him through the uncertainty. ❤️

Reflecting on their marriage, Fox compared the diagnosis to knowing that a difficult moment was coming without knowing exactly when it would arrive or how severe it would become. He said Pollan could have decided at any point that she needed to step away, and he would have understood. Instead, she stayed with him, and the couple have continued building their life together for more than three decades. Their story has included four children, careers, health challenges, and countless changes along the way.

Fox has also spoken about choosing optimism despite living with a progressive condition for which there is currently no cure. He founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to support Parkinson’s research, and he continues to advocate for scientific progress. For Fox, positivity does not mean pretending everything is easy—it means finding faith, giving yourself credit for making it through difficult moments, and continuing to focus on what can still be done. 🧠❤️