Bruce Willis’ daughters and are already grieving after his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, their mother, Emma Heming, has revealed.
The wife of the Hollywood star made the heartbreaking admission in an interview about Bruce’s health struggles with Vogue Australia.
Bruce was first diagnosed with aphasia in March 2022, and his family then announced his FTD diagnosis the following year.
FTD is a progressive condition that affects behaviour, movement, language and memory, and it has no cure.
Emma opened up about how their daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, are dealing with Bruce’s health struggles.
“I think they’re doing well, all things considered. But it’s hard. They grieve,” she explained.
“They miss their dad so much. He’s missing important milestones. That’s tough for them.
“But kids are resilient. [Although] I used to hate hearing that because people didn’t understand what we were walking through. I don’t know if my kids will ever bounce back. But they’re learning, and so am I.”
After his diagnosis in 2022, Emma has been candid about her journey learning more about the condition, and the toll it has taken on her family.
She explored it in her book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, which was released in September 2025.
She told The Sunday Times that her daughters were still adjusting to the new dynamics with their father.
“They have really adapted to his disease, and they know how to move around him. It’s beautiful, but it’s hard for them. They miss him,” she said.
The author has also spoken about the arduous journey to his final diagnosis, and this impact on her children.
Years before she got a confirmation, she told Vanity Fair that she was “worried” her marriage was crumbling. She even considered divorce at the time.
When she eventually found out, she found it extremely difficult to talk about due to her “anger”.
“I was very angry, very upset, very sad,” she said.
“It was really hard for me to just separate what I was pissed at and who I was pissed at. I just wasn’t in a good state of mind. And it wasn’t good for Bruce, it wasn’t good for our children, it wasn’t good for anyone—especially not me.”
In August, she revealed that she moved Bruce into a specialised care home.
“[It] was the safest and best decision – not just for Bruce, but also for our two young girls. And, you know, it’s really not up for debate,” she said on Good Morning America.
“Now I know that Bruce has the best care 100 per cent of the time. His needs are met 100 per cent of the time, as well as our two young daughters. So I’m not gonna take a vote on that.”
