In a heartfelt and revealing talk in Toronto, Emma Heming Willis opened up about the personal journey she and her family have been on since her husband, iconic actor Bruce Willis, was diagnosed with a devastating form of dementia.
The First Subtle Signs: A Returning Stutter
Emma Heming Willis told the audience that the initial clue something was amiss with her husband was the unexpected return of a childhood stutter. Bruce Willis, 70, had long overcome the speech impediment that earned him the nickname "Buck Buck" as a boy in 1960s New Jersey. "Never in my wildest dreams did I realize that was a symptom," she confessed. This re-emerging stutter, alongside other communication difficulties he experienced in his late sixties, was later understood as a symptom of progressive aphasia, a loss of language ability.
From Diagnosis to a Shared Reality
In 2022, following a legendary Hollywood career spanning from Moonlighting and Die Hard to Pulp Fiction and The Sixth Sense, Willis retired from acting. Soon after, he received a formal diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, the most common type of early-onset dementia. For Emma, this was a life-altering moment she refers to as "our diagnosis." She left the doctor's office with a condition she couldn't pronounce, feeling isolated and without resources. "Early on it was very lonely. I carried a lot of grief. I continue to," she shared.
A Difficult Decision for the Family's Well-being
In the years since, Heming Willis, 47, has become a public advocate for caregivers. She addressed the recent difficult decision to move Bruce into a nearby second family home in Los Angeles, where he lives with a full-time support team. This choice, which has faced some public backlash, was made with their two young daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, in mind. The girls, whose childhood has been shaped by their father's progressing illness, now visit him frequently for meals. However, the arrangement allows them to maintain a sense of normalcy with playdates and sleepovers at their primary residence.
Heming Willis emphasized that she knows her husband wants their children to live in a home set up for their needs, not just for his. Her mission now is to channel her family's experience into support and inspiration for others navigating similar heartbreaking paths with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
