Bruce Willis‘ wife Emma Heming revealed that their marriage ‘shifted’ from the tension brought about by his dementia.
He withdrew from Hollywood in 2022 after developing the brain condition aphasia, which causes the patient’s language abilities to deteriorate.
In 2023, his family announced that his illness had ‘progressed’ and he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Now Emma – who moved Bruce into a separate home to be cared for by a full-time team – is publishing a book about looking after him called The Unexpected Journey.
‘FTD doesn’t scream, it whispers. It’s very gray to know where Bruce stopped and where his disease kicked in,’ she told People in an interview promoting the memoir.
Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming revealed that their marriage ‘shifted’ from the tension brought about by his dementia; the couple are pictured in 2018
‘I started noticing his stutter started to come back [and] conversations weren’t really aligning anymore. It was hard to put my finger on why and what was happening.’
Disorder crept into their home life and the couple – who share daughters Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11 – experienced marital stress they had not suffered before.
‘I think for most [people], by the time you get to a diagnosis, you are already in that role,’ said Emma, explaining that an official confirmation of Bruce’s illness meant there ‘was relief in understanding: “Oh, okay, this wasn’t my husband, it was that this disease was taking parts of his brain.” I just softened.’
During the initial stages of his sickness, she felt ‘very isolated’ and ‘too scared to say anything to anyone’ as she juggled the combined tasks of caring for Bruce, mothering their children and preserving a degree of privacy for him.
‘I was in so much sadness and darkness for so long,’ the 47-year-old said. ‘It felt like what was happening was only happening to us.’
Her method of coping with her circumstances evolved as she ‘realized it would be beneficial to talk about it and raise awareness so people get to the doctor sooner, can be diagnosed sooner, get into clinical trials.’
