Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the wife of former President Jimmy Carter, has entered hospice care at home, their family announced in a statement Friday.

What You Need To Know

  • Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has entered hospice care at home, her family announced in a statement

  • In May, the Carter Center confirmed that Rosalynn Carter, 96, was diagnosed with dementia, the condition that affects a person’s mental health, memory and decision-making, commonly affecting older adults

  • In February, former President Carter began hospice care at home; he turned 99 in October, and is the longest-living president in American history

  • Though the president and former first lady have maintained a low profile this year, the couple made a ride-through visit to the Plains Peanut Festival in Plains, Georgia, on Sept. 29

In a statement released by the Carter Center on behalf of their grandson Jason Carter, the former first lady and the former president are “spending time with each other and their family.”

In May, the Carter Center confirmed that Rosalynn Carter, 96, was diagnosed with dementia, the condition that affects a person’s mental health, memory and decision-making, commonly affecting older adults.

In February, former President Carter began hospice care at home “after a series of short hospital stays.” He turned 99 in October, and is the longest-living president in American history.

Since 2015, Carter has faced a series of health challenges, including successfully-treated cancer that had metastasized throughout his body; a urinary tract infection; a pelvic fracture; and surgery to relieve pressure on his brain from a subdural hematoma, following a handful of falls, in 2019.

Though the president and former first lady have maintained a low profile this year, the couple made a ride-through visit to the Plains Peanut Festival in Plains, Georgia, on Sept. 29. The couple were both born in Plains, maintained a home (and peanut-farming business) there, and later returned to the city for Carter's post-presidential life.

In March, President Joe Biden told the assembled crowd at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Southern California that he had been asked by Carter to deliver the eulogy at his funeral.

In an interview with USA Today, Jason Carter said that his grandparents are happy at home.

“They are together. They are at home. They're in love, and I don't think anyone gets more than that,” Jason Carter said. “I mean, it's a perfect situation for this time in their lives.”