NEED TO KNOW
- Emma Heming Willis has revealed that her husband, Bruce Willis, does not know he has dementia.
- He found out he has frontotemporal dementia in February 2023.
- Emma has been open about her journey as a caregiver, and the impact the condition has had on their family.
Emma Heming Willis has marked her husband Bruce’s 71st birthday with a poignant tribute.
The Die Hard star marked his birthday on March 19.
“Today we celebrate Bruce’s birthday. 💙,” she began on Instagram, with a sweet photo of her husband.
“This journey with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has opened my eyes to the realities so many families face.
“It’s what inspired me to create The Emma & Bruce Willis Fund to raise awareness of FTD, support research, and stand beside the caregivers who carry so much every day,” she continued, and encouraged people to donate and support other organisations dedicated to dementia, and to check on any caregivers in their lives.
The actor was first diagnosed with aphasia in March 2022, which led to his retirement from acting. He then received a more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia in February 2023.
The tribute comes two months after Emma admitted she is “happy” that Bruce isn’t aware that he has dementia.
“I think that’s like the blessing and the curse of this, is that he never connected the dots that he had this disease, and I’m really happy about that. I’m really happy that he doesn’t know about it,” she told the Conversations with Cam podcast in January, according to PEOPLE.
She also shared more details about Bruce’s struggles with anosognosia. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the condition is when people can’t recognise the health conditions they have, and it commonly impacts people living with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
“People think this might be denial, like they don’t want to go to the doctor because they’re like, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine,’ actually, this is the anosognosia that comes into play,” Emma continued. “It’s not denial. It’s just that their brain is changing. This is a part of the disease.”
Emma has been dedicated to shining a spotlight on the condition and caring for her husband, whom she’s known for almost 20 years.
What has Emma Willis said about Bruce’s dementia diagnosis?
The New York Times bestselling author took to Instagram on December 31 to mark their anniversary.
“18 years ago, he became my boyfriend,” she wrote. “With one kiss on the top of my head, time stood still. I’m so lucky to know this kind of love 💙.”
For Christmas, she also wrote a blog post about how the holidays changed with a dementia diagnosis.
“For me, the holidays carry memories of Bruce being at the centre of it all,” she wrote.
“He loved this time of year- the energy, family time, the traditions. He was the pancake-maker, the get-out-in-the-snow-with-the-kids guy, the steady presence moving through the house as the day unfolded.”
She also added that grief can pop up in the smallest of moments.
“I find myself, harmlessly, cursing Bruce’s name while wrestling with the holiday lights or taking on tasks that used to be his,” she continued.
“Not because I’m mad at him, never that, but because I miss the way he once led the holiday charge. Yes, he taught me well, but I’m still allowed to feel annoyed that this is one more reminder of how things have changed.”
Their family update
In September, Bruce made a surprise public outing to a car wash, his first since his devoted wife revealed that he was living separately from his family in a care home due to his health.
The update came several days before Emma gave a candid interview to the Sunday Times, where she revealed how their young daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, were adjusting to a new type of relationship 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.”
Emma added that she often struggled with remembering how Bruce was once.
“It’s really hard to look back at the old movies. Other times, I get stuck in the iCloud, videos, and pictures on our phones. But I walk away from it just feeling, ugh-like I can’t believe it. I can’t believe Bruce has this disease. I can’t believe what this disease has done to him.”
Only a week prior, Emma broke her silence and defended her decision to move Bruce into a specialised care home.
Initially, the 49-year-old made the announcement about their living situation in August.
Speaking on Good Morning America, she called out people who questioned her as a wife and mother.
“[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.
“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.”
Emma said she was initially worried that he had changed or that he no longer loved her.
She also spoke about how she felt about her marriage before his diagnosis to Vanity Fair.
Years before his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, she was worried that her marriage was “crumbling” – so much so that she once considered divorce.
When she finally found out the truth and was told there was nothing doctors could do, she found it hard to talk about.
“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.”
She said it was hard for the couple’s young children.
His condition and state were consuming, and made it difficult for her to remember when she was happiest.
“It is so hard right now for me to tap into that time of our life, because I’m so wrapped up in what today is and what it looks like,” she told the publication.
“I hear that from a lot of caregivers, too —that it’s hard for them to remember. I’m so happy I’m able to talk to other caregivers now, to know that I’m not crazy, that that is a normal thing.”
When she initially made the decision for them to live separately, she said her family was at the front of her mind.
“Bruce would want that for our daughters,” she told American TV broadcaster Diane Sawyer for an interview on the ABC program Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey – A Diane Sawyer Special.
Emma added that her husband would “want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs”.
Bruce’s new home – in which he lives with a full-time care team – is not far from the family residence, and Emma said that Mabel and Evelyn visit their 70-year-old father regularly for breakfast and dinner.
Is Bruce Willis able to speak anymore?
During the interview, Emma also opened up about how Bruce’s language skills were “going”.
“Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall. It’s just his brain that is failing him,” she explained.
The couple now has a “different way” of communicating, and Emma became emotional as she discussed the change in their dynamic with Sawyer.
“He has such, like, a hearty laugh and, you know, sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye or that smirk and, you know, I just get, like, transported,” she said.
Bruce Willis’ symptoms revealed
During the interview, which aired on Good Morning America, Emma – who is promoting her now-released memoir, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope and Yourself on the Caregiving Path – also opened up about the “alarming” symptoms Bruce first exhibited before his diagnosis in 2022.
“For someone who is very talkative and very engaged, he was just a little more quiet,” she revealed.
“When the family would get together, he would kind of just melt a little bit.”
“It felt a little removed, very cold, not like Bruce, who was very warm and affectionate,” she said. “To [go] the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary.”
The Willis family – including Emma Heming, his ex Demi Moore, and Bruce’s daughters – first announced Bruce was suffering from aphasia – a disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate – in 2022.
In February 2023, the family revealed his condition was more complex than that.
“Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed, and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD),” the family wrote in a statement.
“Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.
“FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone. For people under 60, FTD is the most common form of dementia, and because getting the diagnosis can take years, FTD is likely much more prevalent than we know.
“Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead.”
Since that time, the family – including Bruce’s daughters from his marriage to Demi, Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah- have continued to share updates on his health.
In December 2023, a source close to the family told US Weekly that the actor’s condition had worsened again.
“Bruce has good days and bad days, but in the last two months, there are many more bad days than good,” the source said.
“This experience has brought the whole family even closer together.
“No one knows how much time Bruce has left, so they’re soaking up every moment they get with him.”
The day Bruce was diagnosed
Speaking to an audience at the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement Forum in Las Vegas in May 2025, Emma relived the day she was told about Bruce’s diagnosis.
“On the day Bruce got his diagnosis, we left the doctor’s office with a pamphlet and a hollow goodbye. No plan, no guidance, no hope, just shock,” she revealed.
“The future we imagined simply vanished, and I was left trying to hold my family together, raise our two young daughters, and care for the man I love while navigating a disease I barely understood.”
Emma went on to say she felt “lost, isolated, and scared”.
“What I needed in that moment at that appointment wasn’t just medical information,” she explained. “I needed someone to look me in the eye and say, ‘This feels impossible right now, but you will find your footing. You will survive this and you will grow because of it.’”
Emma previously spoke candidly about her husband’s health in a personal essay for Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper.
After his diagnosis, Emma, who married Bruce in 2009, became a caregiver for her husband, something she said she felt a level of “guilt” about.
“I struggle with guilt, knowing I have resources that others don’t,” she wrote in the publication. “When I’m able to get out for a hike to clear my head, it’s not lost on me that not all care partners can do that.
“When what I share about our family’s journey gets press attention, I know that there are thousands of untold, unheard stories, each of them deserving of compassion and concern.
“At the same time, I see that what I share matters to others who may be struggling, and in a small way makes them feel seen and understood.
“I want people to know that when I hear from another family affected by FTD, I hear our family’s same story of grief, loss, and immense sadness echoed in theirs,” She went on.
“ It’s important to be an advocate on behalf of those families who don’t have the time, energy, or resources to advocate for themselves.”
The power of love
Speaking previously to Today, Emma revealed how her husband’s battle had changed her.
“Love, patience, resilience. So much that he’s teaching me,” she explained. “And it’s teaching (our kids) so much. How to care, how to love. It’s a beautiful thing amongst the sadness.”
At the time, Emma said the family dynamic was to be “very honest and open”.
“I wouldn’t want there to be any stigma or shame for their dad’s diagnosis or any form of dementia,” she added.
As Bruce’s battle continues, the bittersweet moments remain.
In March 2025, in an Instagram post to celebrate 16 years with Bruce, Emma shared a photo of the pair smiling and embracing.
“Today marks 16 years with the love of a lifetime. We’ve shared monumental highs and devastating lows, and through it all, we’ve built something timeless,” she wrote.
“I’m so deeply grateful for every chapter I’ve had with him and all the ones we’ll continue to write, in our language of unconditional love.”
