Emma Heming Willis says Bruce Willis does not realise his dementia diagnosis

Emma Heming Willis says Bruce Willis has not connected his dementia diagnosis, sharing details in podcast interview

Emma Heming Willis has said that her husband, actor Bruce Willis, does not know that he has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, explaining that he has “never connected the dots” about his condition.

In an interview on the 28 January episode of the Conversations with Cam podcast, hosted by Cameron Oaks Rogers, Emma Heming Willis discussed her husband’s health and how the disease has affected their family.

She said that Bruce Willis “never, never tapped in” to his diagnosis and shared that she feels “really happy” that he does not recognise it.

“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'm really happy that he doesn't know about it,” she said during the conversation.

Emma Heming Willis explained that her husband experiences anosognosia, a condition in which a person is unable to recognise their own illness. She said it is often misunderstood as denial but is instead a symptom of the disease itself.

“It's where your brain can't identify what is happening to it,” she explained, adding that people with the condition believe their experience is normal.

The Willis family publicly shared in 2023 that the Die Hard actor had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a group of disorders that affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.

The condition can cause changes in behaviour and personality, speech difficulties and problems with movement, and is one of the most common forms of dementia in people under 60.

Emma Heming Willis said her husband remains “very much present in his body” and that the family has adapted as his condition has progressed. She added that while his way of connecting has changed, it remains meaningful for her and their children.