Diane Keaton had secret battle with heartbreaking disease before her death

Diane Keaton had secretly been battling dementia for some time prior to her heartbreaking passing last weekend, according to a shock new report.

NewsNation cite a source who worked with the iconic actress as having confirmed “she was battling it for years.”

In an emotional statement shared with People, Keaton’s loved ones yesterday described how she passed away on October 11, surrounded by those closest to her.

“The Keaton family are very grateful for the extraordinary messages of love and support they have received these past few days on behalf of their beloved Diane, who passed away from pneumonia on October 11,” a statement from Keaton’s family reads.

“She loved her animals and she was steadfast in her support of the unhoused community, so any donations in her memory to a local food bank or an animal shelter would be a wonderful and much appreciated tribute to her.”

The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed that emergency crews were called to Keaton’s home just after 8 a.m. on October 11, with one person transported to a nearby hospital shortly thereafter before being pronounced dead.

BRENTWOOD, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 20: Diane Keaton is seen on August 20, 2024 in Brentwood, California. (Photo by London Entertainment/GC Images)

Earlier this week, a close friend of Keaton’s revealed to TMZ that the star had been sick for a while with an unnamed illness, and that her passing was “not a shock”.

Just what the ‘unnamed illness’ in question might be hasn’t been clarified, but now a new report from NewsNation claims that Keaton was living with dementia for years.

Reportedly, the condition affected Keaton’s ability to remember her lines, with the actress having her words fed to her through an earpiece in 2022 while filming the rom-com Maybe I Do.

“It was so sad,” an on-set source claimed, as per RadarOnline.com. “(Co-star) William H. Macy was very supportive, but it was also frustrating because if there was any stopping — a bathroom break, a meal, anything — it was back to square one. It was heartbreaking to watch. She was just so lovely.”

According to reports, Keaton’s mother, Dorothy Deanne, suffered from Alzheimer’s. In her 2011 memoir, Then Again, Keaton wrote about the heartbreak of her mom’s fight against the illness. Then Again.

“Goodbye to names of places; goodbye to… recognizing me as her daughter,” Keaton wrote at the time.