O'Connor Embraces Husband's New Flame

Sandra Day O'Connor, who retired from the Supreme Court last year to care for her ailing husband, is now supporting his romance with another woman at the Alzheimer's center where they both live. In a poignant development experts say is common, John O'Connor no longer remembers his wife of 52 years and has fallen for another woman. And what makes him happy makes his wife happy, their son tells a Phoenix television station.

Scott O'Connor said his mother is relieved and pleased, after a difficult period, to see his father like "a teenager in love," "visiting with his girlfriend, sitting on the porch swing holding hands." The ex-justice didn't talk to the TV station, USA Today reports, but allowing this glimpse into their private life echoes her decision in 1994 to go public with her feelings about breast cancer. An Alzheimer's activist commends her for "raising awareness and helping to reduce stigmas." (More Sandra Day O'Connor stories.)