Emma Heming Willis opens up about difficult decision in Bruce Willis' dementia care journey

Emma Heming Willis reveals hardest decision in Bruce Willis’ dementia journey during emotional interview.

Emma Heming Willis is reflecting on a painful chapter in her family's life as her husband, actor Bruce Willis, continues to live with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In a candid interview with Diane Sawyer for the ABC News special Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey, which aired on August 26, Heming Willis spoke about the emotional challenges she’s faced since his diagnosis.

One of the most difficult choices, she shared, was moving the Die Hard star, now 70, into a separate home designed for round-the-clock care. “It was one of the hardest decisions,” said Heming Willis, 47. “But I knew Bruce would want that for our daughters. He would want them in a home more tailored to their needs, not his.”

The couple, married since 2009, share two daughters: Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11. Despite living in separate homes, Heming Willis emphasized that the family remains close. “We have breakfast and dinner together. It’s a house filled with love, care, and laughter,” she said.

Though Willis remains physically healthy and mobile, Heming Willis noted that the disease has significantly impacted his ability to communicate. “It’s just his brain that is failing him,” she explained. “The language is going, but we’ve adapted. We’ve found a different way to connect.”

Asked if her husband still recognizes her, Heming Willis responded with certainty: “I know he does. He lights up when we’re with him—he holds our hands, kisses us, hugs us. That’s all I need.”

She also recalled the early signs of Willis’s decline, describing how he gradually became quieter and more withdrawn. Initially, she thought it might be a hearing issue.

Willis retired from acting in 2022 following a diagnosis of aphasia. In 2023, the family confirmed it had progressed into FTD, a brain disorder that affects behavior, personality, and language.

Heming Willis’s book, The Unexpected Journey, documenting the family’s experience with the illness, will be released on September 9. The ABC News special is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.