Bruce Willis' Wife Opens Up on Heartbreaking Dementia Diagnosis

Bruce Willis' Wife Emma Heming Opens Up About Devastating Dementia Diagnosis: 'It Was Like Watching My Husband Disappear Before My Eyes'

In a heart-wrenching interview with People, Emma Heming Willis, wife of action hero Bruce Willis, shares the traumatic moment she received his devastating dementia diagnosis in November 2022. The Die Hard legend, 70, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a brutal disease that erodes personality and language skills, leaving Emma shaken and feeling abandoned by the medical community.

"I'm sure the doctor was explaining what FTD is, but I couldn't hear a single thing," Emma recalls. "I had pins and needles going through my body. My ears were wafting. It's like I was in a daze." The diagnosis finally explained Bruce's troubling behavioral changes, but Emma says she was left reeling by the lack of support or guidance from doctors.

"It's not just happening to us," Emma emphasizes. "This is how many people are receiving their diagnosis – with no clear path forward and little direction on what to do next." With millions of Americans facing dementia in their families, Emma's experience is all too common. Frustrated by the lack of support, she turned to her own research, scouring the internet for answers.

"I ended up searching the web to figure out what to do," Emma admits. "It was a bleak time – early on, life felt very dark, very one-note of just grief and sadness." As the primary caregiver, Emma feels overwhelmed, balancing Bruce's needs, safeguarding his privacy, and raising their two young daughters largely on her own.

As the family navigates this uncharted territory, Emma has found solace in speaking out about their experiences. "Early on, I was too scared to say anything to anyone," she confesses. "It felt like what was happening was only happening to us." But Emma's newfound perspective has led her to write a book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path.

"I wrote the book that I wish someone had handed me on the day we received the diagnosis," Emma explains. "Caregiving is hard, and there are many people doing it with little to no support... The only way I can get through this is to help someone else feel less alone." Her remarks come as a family insider informs The Scholarly Note that Bruce is "going downhill fast" to the point he doesn't recognize some faces anymore.

Bruce's blended family has rallied around him amid his illness, including his ex-wife Demi Moore and their daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31. A source close to the family tells The Scholarly Note that Bruce's daughters are "all spending as much time with him as they can," adding: "He lights up when he sees his children."

But it's not just the emotional toll of caring for a loved one with dementia that Emma faces – there are also practical decisions to be made. Recently, she revealed that the hardest decision was moving Bruce into a separate one-story house away from their primary residence. He lives there with a full-time care team, while Emma brings their daughters Mabel and Evelyn to visit him frequently.

"Bruce would want that for our daughters," said Emma. "He would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs." The couple made this revelation during a joint ABC special with Diane Sawyer entitled Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey.

Days after the broadcast aired, Emma posted on Instagram saying she had been criticized online for moving Bruce into a separate house. She argued that she had been judged "quickly and unfairly," saying viewers were split between those with an opinion versus those with actual experience.

During the Diane Sawyer special, Emma explained: "Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall, you know. It's just his brain that is failing him." She added: "We have a way of communicating with him that is just a different, a different way, but I'm grateful. I'm grateful that my husband is still very much here."

As Emma continues to navigate this challenging new reality, she hopes her book will provide comfort and guidance to others facing similar struggles. "I want people to know they're not alone," she emphasizes. "There are so many of us going through this, and we need to support each other."