Iconic Die Hard actor Bruce Willis has been battling frontotemporal dementia (FTD) since his diagnosis in February of 2023. Unfortunately, it sounds like his condition has worsened, forcing his family to make a difficult decision.
The A-list actor’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, has been promoting her new book, Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey, which is slated to hit shelves next month.As she promotes the book, she recently spoke to Diane Sawyer of ABC News, opening up her husband’s condition as she has helped care for him over the past several months.
During the emotional interview, Heming Willis shared what she called the “hardest decision” she has had to make as his condition worsens.
Expert Explains Willis’ Condition
Back in February of 2023, Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
During an interview alongside Heming Willis shortly after the actor’s diagnosis, Susan Dickson, CEO of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, gave some insight into the disease.
According to Dickson, the disease is often misdiagnosed, with the symptoms mirroring depression, bipolar disorder, or even Parkinson’s and ALS. Those impacted by the disease can lose language and executive functions, and have trouble moving and speaking.
She also said that it was difficult to even know whether or not Willis himself has been aware of his cognitive decline.
“One of the things that the frontal lobe controls is self insight,” Dickson said. “So we really don’t know. Some people, the first thing they lose is any understanding that they have changed. And other people retain that for a long time.”
Willis’s Condition Has Worsened
During the interview with Sawyer, the actor’s wife said that while he is in “great health” physically, his brain is “failing him.”
“Bruce is still very mobile,” she said. “Bruce is in really great health overall, you know. It’s just his brain that is failing him.”
Heming Willis said that her husband’s language has started to fail.
“The language is going, and, you know, we’ve learned to adapt,” she continued. “And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a … different way.”
Heming Willis got emotional as she opened up about seeing glimpses of her husband and his true personality come through despite his condition.
“Not days, but we get moments. It’s his laugh, right? He has such a hearty laugh. And sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk. I just get transported,” Heming Willis said, getting emotional. “And it’s just hard to see, because as quickly as those moments appear, then it goes.”
A Difficult Decision
With Willis’s condition worsening, his wife has made the difficult decision to move him away from the family home.
The actor and his wife have two daughters together, 13-year-old Mabel and 11-year-old Evelyn. Heming Willis explained that while the decision was difficult, it’s what her husband 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 and her husband is now living with a full-time care team, Heming Willis called the move the “hardest decision,” but she has tried to take her daughters to visit him “a lot.”
“When we go over, either we’re outside, or we’re watching a movie,” she explained. “It’s just really about being able to be there, and connect with Bruce.
“It is a house that is filled with love, and warmth, and care, and laughter. And it’s been beautiful to see that, to see how many of Bruce’s friends continue to show up for him, and they bring in life, and fun.”
