Legendary actor Bruce Willis has been battling frontotemporal dementia (FTD) since he was diagnosed back in February of 2023, with his wife, Emma Heming Willis, serving as his primary caregiver – and it doesn’t sound like she’s all that interested in hearing opinions on how she should care for him.
Bruce Willis Battles FTD
- Willis was diagnosed with the disease back in February of 2023
- The actor’s brain is “failing him.”
- His wife made the difficult decision to move him out of the family home.
- Emma defended the decision to move him out of the home.
Controversial Decision
Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, has been caring for her husband since his diagnosis. As his condition worsens, she made the difficult decision to move him out of the family home and into a different home where he can receive full-time care.
Bruce and Emma have two daughters together, 13-year-old Mabel and 11-year-old Evelyn. Emma explained that the decision to move him out of the house was made in part to benefit their daughters, which she says he would want.
“Bruce would want that for our daughters,” she told Sawyer. “He would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.”
Though she knows it’s for the best, she called the move the “hardest decision,” but she has tried to take her daughters to visit him “a lot.”
Defending the Decision
After receiving some social media criticism for moving Bruce out of the family home, Emma defended the move in a post on social media.
In a recent Instagram post, Heming Willis read an excerpt from her upcoming book, Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey, where she defended herself from any criticism or opinions from others who are not part of the decision.
“Everyone will have an opinion, but you have to remember that most don’t have the experience to back it up,” she read from her book, responding to criticism about her decision. “If that’s the case, they shouldn’t offer their two cents about it, and you shouldn’t pay them any mind.”
“It’s really not up for debate.”
Emma Heming Willis
“Nothing changes an opinion quite as powerfully as when you have an experience,” she said, recounting advice from her therapist. “Even if someone is familiar with dementia … they aren’t in your home. They don’t know how your person is behaving or your family dynamics.
“The truth is … the opinions are so loud, and they’re so noisy. But if they don’t have the experience of this, they don’t get a say, and they definitely don’t get a vote,” she concluded.
‘Not Up For Debate’
As if her statement on social media was not firm enough, Emma defended the decision once again during an appearance on Good Morning America.
“It was a hard decision for us but that was the safest and best decision, not just for Bruce but also for our two young girls,” Emma explained during a Sept. 9 appearance on Good Morning America. “It’s really not up for debate.”
Emma knew that she would receive criticism when she shared that her husband was no longer living in the family house, but she is not willing to listen to the opinions of those who are not experiencing the situation firsthand.
“I’m not going to take a vote on that,” she maintained. “Now I know that Bruce has the best care, 100 percent of the time. His needs are met 100 percent of the time.”
