Seth Rogen and Wife Lauren Miller Recall ‘Brutal’ Time Navigating Her Mother’s Alzheimer’s in New Doc (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen.Photo:Kevin Winter/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty

Kevin Winter/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty

Seth Rogen and wife Lauren Miller Rogen are releasing a new documentary,Taking Care, about her late mother’s experience with Alzheimer’s diseaseThe filmmakers touch on their difficult journey as caretakers and founding their nonprofit Hilarity for CharityThe couple hope their story will raise awareness for the disease and funds for those impactedAs a comically gifted couple,Seth Rogenand wifeLauren Miller Rogenpreviously discussed how humor helped them“cope with things”while caring for Miller’s late mother Adele, who wasdiagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s diseaseat age 55.However, in their new documentary,Taking Care, the filmmakers give a raw inside look into their experience as caretakers prior to Adele’sdeathin 2020.Per an official synopsis,Taking Careis “a story about family, resilience, and the power of taking action in the face of adversity. With expert insights and touching personal moments, the film is a powerful reminder of the difference we can all make in the effort to end Alzheimer’s.”As executive producers of the documentary, the couple opened up about their emotional journey ahead of its Jan. 13 release.“I’ve seen firsthand how people sharing their stories is very therapeutic and allows other people to open up themselves,” Rogen, 42, tells PEOPLE. “And I think Lauren’s family sharing their story will just make a lot of people not feel so alone if they are dealing with the disease. It’ll offer comfort and if you know nothing about the disease, it will hopefully show you what it’s like.”The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Lauren Miller Rogen with her mother Adele.Courtesy Taking Care FilmMiller, 43, says Alzheimer’s can be difficult to understand if the disease hasn’t touched you personally. Despite having witnessed both her grandparents’ battles with Alzheimer’s, navigating her mother’s diagnosis was still tough.“When she started to show signs early on, I immediately panicked because I feared Ididknow what was in store… and I was right,” she tells PEOPLE. “It was brutal, if I’m being completely honest.”“I really struggled for quite a while,” she adds. “I felt angry and had a short temper, but eventually started going to therapy and trying to do things to make it livable. That was the option that I had. It was either live in the darkness or do something about it.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Courtesy Taking Care FilmRogen admits that it was “a revelatory experience” seeing how taxing the disease was on Adele, as well as Miller and her family. “It was very eyeopening and very devastating,” he adds.The actor says he was as supportive as he could be, which Miller praised, but he ultimately recognized that he didn’t have the tools she needed to “really navigate a heavy amount of grief.”“It’s hard in some ways — not being able to help — but I think it’s very relieving in other ways,” he explains. “If you don’t have an ego about it, I think it’s very healthy to acknowledge that you don’t necessarily have the skillset to fix everything. Just like if you break your arm, it’s not hard for me to understand that I don’t know how to fix that. So I think I feel very similarly.”So, Rogen recommended that his wife start therapy. Miller didn’t grow up in a family that ever considered therapy, but says it was extremely helpful over the years after giving it a chance.Courtesy Taking Care FilmDuring that journey, the couple also foundedHilarity for Charityin 2012 forAlzheimer’sawareness. Through the nonprofit they’ve frequently held events with comedians and musicians to raise money to fight the disease. HFC’s work is also featured inTaking Care. Miller says the community they’ve built is inspiring and it’s been so beneficial to “sit across from someone who was in the same boat.”“I was able to find so much hope,” she tells PEOPLE. “We connect with more and more people year after year, which means we’re raising more money to help people. And when you see the work that we’re doing, tangibly helping them, it’s such great inspiration to keep going.”“Yeah, it was hard,” Miller says of sharing her family’s story, “but I think the things we learned are what drove us to create the programs we have today.”“I hope that people walk away with an understanding of what the disease is — it’s a much bigger strain on the whole family — and what it truly means to lose one’s memory, and then therefore will become advocates.”Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen’s new documentaryTaking Carepremieres Jan. 13 on FUSE an will be available for streaming Jan. 22 on Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play.

As a comically gifted couple,Seth Rogenand wifeLauren Miller Rogenpreviously discussed how humor helped them“cope with things”while caring for Miller’s late mother Adele, who wasdiagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s diseaseat age 55.

However, in their new documentary,Taking Care, the filmmakers give a raw inside look into their experience as caretakers prior to Adele’sdeathin 2020.

Per an official synopsis,Taking Careis “a story about family, resilience, and the power of taking action in the face of adversity. With expert insights and touching personal moments, the film is a powerful reminder of the difference we can all make in the effort to end Alzheimer’s.”

As executive producers of the documentary, the couple opened up about their emotional journey ahead of its Jan. 13 release.

“I’ve seen firsthand how people sharing their stories is very therapeutic and allows other people to open up themselves,” Rogen, 42, tells PEOPLE. “And I think Lauren’s family sharing their story will just make a lot of people not feel so alone if they are dealing with the disease. It’ll offer comfort and if you know nothing about the disease, it will hopefully show you what it’s like.”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Lauren Miller Rogen with her mother Adele.Courtesy Taking Care Film

Courtesy Taking Care Film

Miller, 43, says Alzheimer’s can be difficult to understand if the disease hasn’t touched you personally. Despite having witnessed both her grandparents’ battles with Alzheimer’s, navigating her mother’s diagnosis was still tough.

“When she started to show signs early on, I immediately panicked because I feared Ididknow what was in store… and I was right,” she tells PEOPLE. “It was brutal, if I’m being completely honest.”

“I really struggled for quite a while,” she adds. “I felt angry and had a short temper, but eventually started going to therapy and trying to do things to make it livable. That was the option that I had. It was either live in the darkness or do something about it.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Rogen admits that it was “a revelatory experience” seeing how taxing the disease was on Adele, as well as Miller and her family. “It was very eyeopening and very devastating,” he adds.

The actor says he was as supportive as he could be, which Miller praised, but he ultimately recognized that he didn’t have the tools she needed to “really navigate a heavy amount of grief.”

“It’s hard in some ways — not being able to help — but I think it’s very relieving in other ways,” he explains. “If you don’t have an ego about it, I think it’s very healthy to acknowledge that you don’t necessarily have the skillset to fix everything. Just like if you break your arm, it’s not hard for me to understand that I don’t know how to fix that. So I think I feel very similarly.”

So, Rogen recommended that his wife start therapy. Miller didn’t grow up in a family that ever considered therapy, but says it was extremely helpful over the years after giving it a chance.

During that journey, the couple also foundedHilarity for Charityin 2012 forAlzheimer’sawareness. Through the nonprofit they’ve frequently held events with comedians and musicians to raise money to fight the disease. HFC’s work is also featured inTaking Care. Miller says the community they’ve built is inspiring and it’s been so beneficial to “sit across from someone who was in the same boat.”

“I was able to find so much hope,” she tells PEOPLE. “We connect with more and more people year after year, which means we’re raising more money to help people. And when you see the work that we’re doing, tangibly helping them, it’s such great inspiration to keep going.”

“Yeah, it was hard,” Miller says of sharing her family’s story, “but I think the things we learned are what drove us to create the programs we have today.”

“I hope that people walk away with an understanding of what the disease is — it’s a much bigger strain on the whole family — and what it truly means to lose one’s memory, and then therefore will become advocates.”

Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen’s new documentaryTaking Carepremieres Jan. 13 on FUSE an will be available for streaming Jan. 22 on Amazon, iTunes, and Google Play.

source: people.com