Bruce Willis’s wife Emma Heming Willis opened up about the heartbreaking reality of having to grieve the star while he’s still alive amid his battle with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
The 71-year-old has retreated from the Hollywood spotlight since his family went public with his FTD diagnosis in 2023 after he was initially diagnosed with the neurological disorder aphasia.
FTD is a rare and progressive form of dementia that affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, often leading to changes in personality, behavior or language, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Emma is now Willis’s primary caregiver, though he resides in a separate residence from his wife and two young daughters – Mabel, 14, and Evelyn, 12 – with a full-time care team.
Emma provided rare insight on what it’s like caring for the ailing actor while appearing on the latest episode of The Bossticks podcast, with the 47-year-old admitting she is ‘consistently in grief.’
She also shared the ‘very common misconception’ about frontotemporal dementia.
Bruce Willis’s wife Emma Heming Willis opened up about the heartbreaking reality of having to grieve the actor while he’s still alive amid his battle with frontotemporal dementia (FTD)
Emma explained that FTD has ‘three different variants’ and that Willis’s variant primarily affects his ability to communicate
‘The one that Bruce has affects language. But there’s another variant that will affect behavior and another one that could affect movement.’
Emma shared that people often confuse FTD with Alzheimer’s disease, which affects memory.
‘That’s a different part of the brain. So when people say, “Oh, does he remember who you are?” Well, he does because he doesn’t have Alzheimer’s, he has FTD,’ she said.
‘I think that’s a very common misconception that, when you think of dementia, we think of memory loss.’
Emma then detailed the incredible emotional burden that Willis’s FTD has put on her and their family, which includes his ex-wife Demi Moore, 63, and the former couple’s three adult daughters – Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 32.
She cited Dr Pauline Boss who ‘coined the term ambiguous loss,’ which means to ‘grieve someone who is alive.
‘And that is what many people who are caregivers to someone with dementia experience, because your person is there physically, but maybe not mentally or emotionally,’ Emma explained.
The 71-year-old action star has retreated from the Hollywood spotlight since his family went public with his FTD diagnosis in 2023; Willis seen with daughter Tallulah and ex-wife Demi Moore in 2023
Emma provided rare insight on what it’s like caring for the ailing star while appearing on the latest episode of The Bossticks Podcast, with the 47-year-old admitting she is ‘consistently in grief; Emma seen in 2025
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‘I think what you experience with any form of dementia is it just takes. You know these diseases they take and they take, sometimes very slowly and you are grieving different losses all the time.
‘So you are constantly in grief. I’ve just learned how to navigate it.’
Last year, Emma published a book – titled The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path – detailing her experience caring for Willis as well helping caregivers learn to ‘care for themselves while they navigate a loved one’s dementia.’
In March, she also launched The Emma & Bruce Willis Fund which ‘works to confront frontotemporal dementia by raising awareness, funding early-stage research, and supporting caregivers.’
Earlier this year, Emma revealed Willis has been living in a home with full-time caretakers.
She said the Hollywood star also has anosognosia, a condition where the brain can’t recognize one or more other health conditions.
Speaking in the Conversations with Cam podcast in January, Emma claimed that Willis never connected the dots when it comes to understanding his illness, which she said was a ‘blessing.’
‘Bruce never, never tapped in,’ she said. ‘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 think what you experience with any form of dementia is it just takes. You know these diseases they take and they take, sometimes very slowly and you are grieving different losses all the time,’ Emma said of FTD; Willis seen with granddaughter Louetta, three
‘So you are constantly in grief. I’ve just learned how to navigate it,’ she said; the couple seen in 2019
‘I’m really happy that he doesn’t know about it.’ Heming described anosognosia as where the brain ‘can’t identify what is happening to it,’ so her husband and others with the disease ‘think this is their normal.’
Emma is not the only member of Willis’s tight knit family to provide fans with updates on his dementia battle over the last three years.
In May, the actor’s eldest daughter Rumer Willis shared an upside to watching her father go through the devastating illness.
She said that she gets to see a different side of him that she had never seen in the past.
‘I’m so grateful I get to go see him,’ she told The Inside Edit about her relationship with her dad post-diagnoses. ‘Even though it’s different now, I’m so grateful.’
About his personality now and a particular trait he developed, Rumer, who welcomed her daughter Louetta, whom Willis became a grandfather to in April 2023, shared: ‘There’s a sweetness.’
‘He’s always been this kind of macho dude and there’s like a – fragile is not the right word but – just a tenderness that maybe being Bruce Willis might not have allowed him in a certain way,’ she explained.
During the on-camera interview, she admitted that she ‘had no idea’ how ‘prevalent’ the progressive neurological disease is until her father received his diagnosis.
‘It’s wild to me,’ Rumer said. ‘So many people come up to me now and they say, “My uncle had FTD. My dad had this.”‘
Emma is not the only member of Willis’s tight knit family to provide fans with updates on his dementia battle over the last three years; (L-R) Rumer Willis, Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, Scout Willis, Emma Heming Willis and Tallulah Willis in 2019
In May, the actor’s eldest daughter Rumer shared an upside to watching her father go through the devastating illness
Back in 2022, Willis’s family announced that he was retiring from acting following his aphasia diagnosis.
Less than a year later, his FTD diagnosis was revealed via a family statement shared with the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.
FTD is a form of dementia that causes a rapid decline in the areas of the brain linked to personality and language abilities.
‘While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,’ his family wrote at the time.
They described FTD as a ‘cruel disease’ that ‘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.’
His family also noted that Willis ‘would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families.’
