Bruce Willis’ Wife Emma Says It’s ‘Hard to Know’ If He’s Aware of His Dementia Diagnosis

Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis recently opened up about the actor’s health, sharing that it’s been “hard to know” if he’s aware of his dementia diagnosis. During an appearance on the TODAY show, Hemming Willis shared how the family’s experience has been so far. “Dementia is hard,” she said frankly. “It’s hard on the person diagnosed, it’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say this is a family disease, it really is.” 

TODAY co-anchor Hoda Kotb then asked if Willis is aware if his diagnosis, to which Heming Willis admitted that they can’t really be certain that he does. “It’s hard to know,” she admitted, later going on to share what is her role as a “care partner” for her husband. “It’s important for care partners to look after themselves so that they can be the best care partner for the person they’re caring for,” Heming Willis said. She then added that Willis is “the gift that keeps on giving,” and that their daughters, Mabel and Evelyn, have learned traits such as “love, patience and resilience” from him. “It’s teaching them so much and how to care and love, and it’s really a beautiful thing amongst the sadness,” she said.

Previously, Wilis was diagnosed with Aphasia. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, “Aphasia is a language disorder caused by damage in a specific area of the brain that controls language expression and comprehension. Aphasia leaves a person unable to communicate effectively with others. Many people have aphasia as a result of stroke. Both men and women are affected equally, and most people with aphasia are in middle to old age.” The organization adds, “There are many types of aphasia. These are usually diagnosed based on which area of the language-dominant side of the brain is affected and the extent of the damage.”

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Willis is living with frontotemporal dementia. The Alzheimer’s Association offers a detailed explanation of FTD, which “refers to a group of disorders caused by progressive nerve cell loss in the brain’s frontal lobes (the areas behind your forehead) or its temporal lobes (the regions behind your ears). The association also says nerve cell damage caused by FTD can lead to “loss of function in these brain regions, which variably cause deterioration in behavior, personality and/or difficulty with producing or comprehending language.”