Emma Heming Willis has posted a heartfelt update on her husband Bruce Willis, stating that the ‘Die Hard’ star’s “language is going” and that his brain is “failing him” due to frontotemporal dementia. More than three years after he retired from performing due to his health issues, Heming Willis, 49, talked about what life is like with Bruce Willis, 70, in an emotional interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC News.
“Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall, it’s just his brain that is failing him,” Heming Willis said in an excerpt released on August 26 from an upcoming ABC special. “It’s just his brain that is failing him.”
In February 2023, Willis’s family revealed that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a neurological condition that impacts the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it is more prevalent in men than women and can have an impact on a person’s speech, behaviour, and social interactions.
“The language is going, and we’ve learned to adapt,” Heming Willis said. “And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different way “.
The Pulp Fiction star’s early warning symptoms were also shared by Heming Willis, who has two kids with Bruce. “For someone who is very talkative and very engaged, he was just a little more quiet,” she said. “And when the family would get together, he would kindly of just melt a little bit.”
“It felt a little removed, very cold, not like Bruce, who was very warm and affectionate,” his wife said. “To go in the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary.”
When asked if she still recognises aspects of her husband’s personality from before the illness, Willis refrained from crying.
Heming Willis wants to raise awareness about FTD since, according to her in the interview, it can be mistaken for depression, bipolar disorder, and midlife crisis. After receiving a crash course in caregiving, she will release a new book on September 9. She claimed that after receiving a booklet regarding FTD following his diagnosis, she felt overpowered.
Along the journey, Bruce Willis’ blended family which includes Heming and their two kids and his ex-wife Demi Moore and their three daughters has been providing updates on his health. Earlier this summer, 31-year-old daughter Tallulah Willis uploaded pictures on herself with her father on Instagram, and Moore shared heartfelt pictures of herself with Willis in March to celebrate his 70th birthday.
