‘My Husband Is Still Very Much Here’ Says Emma Heming Willis on Bruce’s Journey with Dementia
The couple has been married since 2009 and has two children together, Mabel Ray, 13, and Evelyn Penn, 11. In March 2022, the Willis family announced that Bruce had been diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder that affects communication. This meant he would be retiring from acting.
Bruce Willis Had Been Diagnosed with FTD
Less than a year later, Emma shared that he had been diagnosed with FTD.
Emma, an author, activist, and famous model, first noticed something going on when the Die Hard star seemed more subdued. “For someone who is very talkative and very engaged, he was just a little more quiet and when the family would get together, he would kind of just melt a little bit,” Emma shares.
He Was Losing Words
He was losing words, and a childhood stutter reappeared. He wasn’t acting like his warm and affectionate self. It was alarming and scary.
A brain scan confirmed that Bruce Willis had FTD, and there is no cure. “I was so panicked," Emma says about the diagnosis. “I just remembered hearing it and just not hearing anything else.”
Although Bruce is in otherwise good health overall, his brain is not.
Sometimes Bruce Is Still Bruce
“The language is going,” she shares. “And we learned to adapt, and we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different way.”
There are still times when he is Bruce again. “We get moments,” she says. “It’s his laugh, right, like, he has such a hardy laugh, and you know sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye or that smirk, and you know I get like transported,” she says with tears in her eyes.
"I'm grateful that my husband is still very much here," Emma tells Diane Sawyer. And that is the love that she can cling to.
Emma Shares Her Journey
Emma has been able to share what she has experienced with Bruce Willis’ FTD with the world. She wants to share a roadmap to help others and has written a book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path.
Emma also shared with PEOPLE that Bruce “lights up” when his family is around. That includes Emma and their girls, his ex-wife, actress Demi Moore, and their three daughters, Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, and his little granddaughter, Louetta.
Prayers for Bruce and His Family
Having a family member experience FTD is ultimately life-changing. Things will never be the same, and there is so much heartbreak in what you have lost. We will pray for Bruce, Emma, and the entire family as they walk this road with him with loving care.
“The LORD is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving” (Psalm 28:7)
WATCH: Bruce Willis' Wife Emma Heming Willis Shares about His Diagnosis
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Originally published September 10, 2025.
