Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming has shared an update on her husband’s dementia diagnosis as she says, ‘the road hasn’t been easy’ since he was diagnosed two years ago
Emma Heming Willis has spoken candidly about life with Bruce Willis as he continues to live with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a condition he was diagnosed with in 2023.
In a moving interview with Diane Sawyer ahead of the ABC special Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey, Emma shared how flashes of the man she married still shine through in a gushing update.
“We get moments,” she said. “It’s his laugh, right? Like, he has such a hearty laugh and, you know, sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye or that smirk and I just get like transported.” Emma paused and then admitted through tears: “And it’s just hard to see because as quickly as those moments appear, (snaps fingers) it goes. That’s hard.”
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The special, previewed Tuesday on Good Morning America, reveals that around 50,000 people in the U.S. live with FTD, a condition that is often difficult to detect. For Bruce, 70, the shift from his warm, outgoing self to someone emotionally distant was jarring and confusing for Emma, his ex-wife, Demi Moore, and his children.
“He felt a little removed, very cold, not like Bruce,” Emma recalled. “Who is very warm and affectionate. To go the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary.”
Bruce’s devoted wife, who is now his full-time caregiver, confessed that the road to his diagnosis was far from easy. “I was so panicked,” Emma said of hearing the term “frontotemporal dementia” for the first time. “I remember hearing it and just not hearing anything else. It was like I was free-falling.”
When asked whether Bruce ever fully grasped what was happening to him, she said quietly: “I don’t think Bruce connected the dots.” Emma has since become Bruce’s full-time caregiver. She and Bruce share two daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, while the Die Hard legend also has three adult daughters, Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, with ex-wife Demi Moore.
Despite the immense challenges, Emma says Bruce remains physically well as she divulged into the health update on him. “Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall, you know. It’s just his brain that is failing him.”
As his ability to speak fades, the family has found new ways to stay connected with the 70-year-old actor. “We have a way of communicating with him that is just a different, a different way,” she said. “But I’m grateful. I’m grateful that my husband is still very much here.”
Bruce was officially diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in February 2023. It followed an earlier announcement in March 2022, when his family revealed he was stepping away from acting due to aphasia, a condition affecting language and communication.
After further evaluation, the diagnosis was updated to FTD, a more specific and progressive neurodegenerative disorder.
Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey airs September 9 on ABC.
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