Dementia asks you to grieve repeatedly: the conversations, the recognition, the shared history, and finally the person.
Being unrecognised by someone you love is a specific wound. It says nothing about the bond — the disease removed the retrieval, not the relationship.
Meet them where they are rather than correcting them into your reality. It's kinder for both of you.
Bank memories now where you can: recordings, stories written down, photographs with names on the back.