It was one of the hardest decisions Emma Heming Willis ever had to make. In an interview with Diane Sawyer, the 47-year-old author and activist revealed that she has moved husband Bruce Willis into a separate home near hers amid his battle with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). “I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters,” Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, she said on an Aug. 26 ABC special. “He would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.”
For Bruce, those needs now require around-the-clock care. Moving the 70-year-old — who was diagnosed with the degenerative brain disorder that affects personality, speech and movement in 2023 — was for the best. And it wasn’t a decision Emma had to make on her own. “The whole family was very much involved,” a source tells Star, including Demi Moore, 62, the actor’s ex-wife, and their daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31. Still, until recently, “Emma’s been the main caretaker,” the source adds. “She’s done everything she can do. Now, she has a team of caretakers who specialize in this kind of thing.”
Blindie/MEGA
Devastating Diagnosis
There had been signs that the Die Hard actor was struggling. His childhood stutter came back and he was starting to forget his lines. The actor’s family also began to notice a change in his personality. “For someone who is very talkative and very engaged, he was a little more quiet,” said Emma. “He felt a little removed, a little cold, not like Bruce, who is very warm and affectionate. To go the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary.” The diagnosis of FTD finally provided his family with answers, but it also left them without any hope, Emma confessed. There is no treatment or cure for the disease. “To leave there with no… nothing, just nothing. With a diagnosis I couldn’t pronounce. I didn’t understand what it was,” she recalled. “I was so panicked. I just remember hearing it and just not hearing anything else. It was like I was free-falling.”
These days, “Bruce is in really great health overall,” said Emma. “It’s just his brain that is failing him. The language is going and, you know, we’ve learned to adapt. We have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different, a different way.” The actor “lights up” when he’s around his family, said Emma. “He’s holding our hands. We’re kissing him. We’re hugging him. He is reciprocating. You know, he is into it.”
There are even times when glimmers of the old Bruce return. “We get moments,” said Emma. “It’s his laugh, right? Like, he has such, like, a hardy laugh. And, you know, sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk, and, you know, I just get, like, transported.” If only for a short while. “It’s just hard to see, because as quickly as those moments appear, then it goes,” she said. “But I’m grateful. I’m grateful that my husband is still very much here.”
Instagram/Demi Moore
A New Purpose
In hope of helping others going through similar situations, Emma has penned a book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, out Sept. 9. She has also partnered with the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration to help raise awareness about FTD. “This has been a difficult time for the whole family. Seeing Bruce disappear to another part of himself has been especially painful,” says the source. “But sharing her story has helped Emma to stay strong. She went from feeling lost to empowered.”
And Emma visits Bruce often, joining him for breakfast and dinner every night. “We’re there a lot. It’s our second home, so the girls have their things there,” she shared. “It is, you know, a house that is filled with love and warmth and care and laughter. It’s been beautiful to see that, to see how many of Bruce’s friends continue to show up for him. They bring in life and fun.” They spend precious time with him while they can. “So they can remember him when he’s gone,” shares the source. “They don’t know when that will be, but they’re prepared.”