Bruce Willis’ wife has revealed she’d been forced to move him into another home where he can receive ‘around the clock care’.
Two years ago, the family of the Die Hard actor announced that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which came a year after his retirement from Hollywood.
This week, Bruce’s wife Emma, 47, gave an emotional sit-down interview with Diane Sawyer, in which she spoke about the difficulties of the 70-year-old’s diagnosis and the tough decision she’s had to make about his care.
‘I knew first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters, you know, he wouldn’t want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.’
Noise causes agitation for people with FTD, and Emma had to ‘isolate’ the family and stop having guests over before moving Bruce to a home where he could receive around the clock care.
‘It’s one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. Bruce is in really great health overall, you know. It’s just his brain that is failing him,’ she said.
‘The language is going, and, you know, we’ve learned to adapt. And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different, a different way.’
Emma went on to explain that she now spends breakfast and dinner with him every day and that he receives regular visits from their daughters and his friends and other family members.
When asked how Bruce reacted to the news that he would be moving out of his family home and into a care facility, she shared: ‘I don’t think he ever connected the dots.’
Reflecting on the early signs of the condition, Emma said she noticed significant personality changes in her husband – who went from being ‘very talkative and engaged to a little more quiet’.
He then became ‘indifferent’ and ‘pulled away’ from his wife, with Emma adding that he felt ‘cold’ and not his usual ‘warm and affectionate’ self.
‘To go the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary. I didn’t understand what was happening, and I thought just, like, “How can I remain in a marriage that doesn’t feel like what we had?”.’
Making the decision to then tell their young daughters – Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11 – what was happening, Emma said she had ‘always been very open with them’, adding that sharing the diagnosis allowed them to ‘understand truly what’s happening’.
‘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,’ she said.
After finally receiving the diagnosis, Emma was told there was ‘no hope’ for the Moonrise Kingdom actor and no cure, which left her ‘panicked and free-falling’.
Since then, his loved ones – including ex-wife Demi Moore and their three daughters Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah – have shared updates on his condition, whilst also advocating for more awareness of the neurodegenerative condition.
Before his retirement in 2022, the legendary action hero’s childhood stutter had reappeared, with the actor also ‘missing lines and cues’ when work on set.
Despite the diagnosis, Emma believes her husband does still recognise her as he ‘lights up’ when he sees her and his loved ones.
‘He’s holding our hands. We’re kissing him. We’re hugging him. He is reciprocating. You know, he is into it,’ she said.
‘And so that’s all I need, you know?. I don’t need him to know that I am his wife, and we were married on this day, and this is what it — I don’t need any of that. I just wanna feel that I have a connection with him. And I do.’
Holding back tears when detailing how ‘quickly those moments appear and go’, Emma added that despite the challenges, she is ‘grateful that my husband is still very much here’.
Emma has also written a book about her experience with caregiving – the Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope and Yourself on the Caregiving Path is set to be released on September 9.
‘Born from grief, shaped by love, and guided by purpose, this is the book I needed back when Bruce was first diagnosed and I was frozen with fear and uncertainty,’ she said when announcing the upcoming release.
‘This is the book I trust will help the next caregiver. It is filled with support, insight, and the hope needed to navigate this journey.’
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