Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis has emotionally revealed how she and her Die Hard actor husband have developed their own way of communicating as the star struggles following his diagnosis
Bruce Willis’ loving wife Emma Heming Willis became overcome with emotion as she discussed the new way the couple now communicate after Bruce’s dementia diagnosis.
Bruce, 70, was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022 and later diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023. The NHS describes frontotemporal dementia as “an uncommon type of dementia that causes problems with behaviour and language”. Like other types of dementia, the condition ‘tends to develop slowly’ and gradually gets worse over time.
Bruce’s wife Emma, 47, has opened up on her life caring for her husband Bruce following his diagnosis and revealed how she and Bruce have crafted their own language as the disease stops those with it from being able to communicate.
READ MORE: Bruce Willis’ wife shares devastating progression of Hollywood star’s conditionREAD MORE: Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis blames Die Hard for his dementia symptom
“Bruce and I now have our own language, our own way to be with each other,” she has told The Times. “It’s just about sitting with him, walking with him, listening to him as he tries to verbalise in his own language. Hearing him, validating him. You know,” Emma the stopped before crying gently and adding: “I’m sorry”.
The star’s wife wiped away tears and added: “It’s hard.” Emma called Bruce’s dementia an “unkind disease”. She said: “FTD is just an unkind disease — it constantly takes. Even when you think it can’t take any more, it takes a little more.”
Emma’s book, The Unexpected Journey, about caring for Bruce was recently released, in which she detailed the progression of the disease.
Early on in the book, Emma revealed Bruce isn’t able to communicate with her. She said: “All caregiving journeys can feel lonely and isolating, but the dementia caregiver’s path often feels even more so.
“The absence of shared decision making or meaningful conversations with your loved one amplifies that sense of isolation. Because Bruce can’t communicate with me (due to the variant forms of FTD he has, primary progressive aphasia) I must make judgement calls for him about absolutely everything.
“I can’t ask him how he’s feeling, what’s wrong, or if something hurts. Instead, I read his body language or look into his eyes to understand what’s bothering him and what he’s experiencing. I compare this to that instinct that you have as a parent.”
Recently, Emma also revealed Bruce had moved into his own home, which she later insisted was in the best interest for her husband and their daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11. She said: “[It] was the safest and best decision – not just for Bruce, but also for our two young girls,’ she told Michael Strahan. “And, you know, it’s really not up for a debate.”
However, Emma has admitted to The Times that the move was “one of the hardest decisions I ever had to make”. She added: “But among the sadness and discomfort, it was the right move — for him, for our girls, for me.
“Ultimately I could get back to being his wife. And that’s such a gift.”
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