The Die Hard star was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023
Bruce Willis was diagnosed with dementia in 2023(Image: Getty Images)
Bruce Willis, the 70-year-old star known for his role in Die Hard, is declining cognitively after being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023. Despite this, his wife, Emma Heming Willis, has shared that Bruce remains in good physical health overall.
In an upcoming ABC special, Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey, Emma opens up about her husband’s condition, saying, “Bruce is still very mobile. He’s in really great health overall. It’s just his brain that is failing him.”
The 47-year-old model also revealed that Bruce, who retired from acting in 2022 following a diagnosis of aphasia, is losing his ability to communicate effectively.
Emma said: “The language is going, and, you know, we’ve learned to adapt. And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just… a different way.”
However, the star did explain that there are moments when The Sixth Sense actor’s personality shines through that allow her to go back to a period before his health problems.
Actor Bruce Willis and his wife Emma Heming(Image: Getty Images)
She said: “Not days, but we get moments. It’s his laugh, right? Like, he has such a hearty laugh. And, you know, sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk, and, you know, I just get, like, transported.”
An emotional Emma continued: “And it’s just hard to see, because as quickly as those moments appear, then they go. It’s hard. But I’m grateful. I’m grateful that my husband is still very much here.”
The star explained how she had noticed changes in Bruce’s behaviour prior to his diagnosis, as he would be uncharacteristically withdrawn at family gatherings.
Emma recalled: “For someone who was very talkative and very engaged, he was just a little more quiet. And when the family would get together, he would kind of just melt a little bit.
“He felt a little removed, very cold. Not like Bruce, who is very warm and affectionate. To go in the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary.”
Emma – who has penned a new book titled The Unexpected Journey that is available from next month – reflected on how she felt “panicked” after her husband was diagnosed with a condition she “couldn’t pronounce”.
She said: “I just remember hearing it and just not hearing anything else. It was like I was free-falling.”
Despite his health problems in recent years, Emma is “grateful” that Bruce is still around.
The author said: “I’m grateful. I’m grateful that my husband is still very much here.”