Baller Alert Entertainment & Lifestyle
People are attacking television host B.Smith’s husband, Dan Gasby, after it was revealed he has been having his girlfriend stay in their house while Smith battles with Alzheimer’s disease.
Well-known restaurateur and lifestyle guru B. Smith was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease back in 2013, and since then, it has been an everyday fight for a normal life. While assisting as Smith’s caregiver, Gasby has also moved on to a new relationship with a woman named Alex Lerner, while still being married to Smith. But, what Gasby is calling a “new normal” has sparked an outrage from Black women online.
During an interview with The Washington Post, Gasby explained why he feels no remorse for moving his new lady live-in with his current wife. “If This is Us” and “Modern Family” came together, it would be us,” Gasby told The Post. Gasby revealed his new relationship with Lerner via Facebook; explaining how the two became friends after meeting for the first time at a bar in the Hamptons.
“We were friends,” Lerner, told The Post. “I didn’t want to go out with a married man.” But it didn’t take long before Lerner began pitching in with caring for Smith, following their initial meet, which was planned by Gasby. “If I can be compassionate to her … if I can do anything for her, it makes me feel good,” she told The Post, her voice “breaking,” according to the outlet. “If it is giving her something to drink, or making her something to eat — she loves to eat — I feel good.”
Dan’s daughter, Dana, says she too is content with her father’s new relationship. “When he told me, I was like, ‘Thank God. I’m happy,’” said the 32-year-old, who is Dan’s daughter from a previous marriage. “B. is my mom … She’s in this house. She’s here every day,” said Dana. But what’s got everyone in a rage is that it’s not really clear whether or not Smith comprehends that her husband has a new woman, due to her condition. While Dan says he has disclosed the relationship, Smith’s Alzheimer’s has advanced so much that it’s unclear if Smith is able to legitimately share her opinion on the new arrangement.
Many believe Gasby is taking advantage of the fact that his wife isn’t in a healthy state of mind. “WOW. So I just watched the video of B. Smith, her husband, and his girlfriend…Listen. This is foul. Straight up. I’m not unsympathetic to the heaviness and loneliness of caring for a spouse with Alzheimer’s & dementia, but this is a whole other level of foul,” one Twitter user said.
In response to the backlash Dan says, “Five to 10 years from now when many of you who will have an almost predestined meeting with Alzheimer’s because of genetics, obesity, and a myriad of inflammatory diseases, you’ll be wishing for someone to share moments with and ease the pain of loneliness and despair,” he continued.
