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 he retired from Hollywood.
Since then, his loved ones – including ex-wife Demi Moore and their three daughters – have shared updates on his condition, whilst also advocating for more awareness of the neurodegenerative condition.
Overnight 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 how it’s affected their lives.
‘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.’
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?”.’
His childhood stutter then reappeared, and he started to ‘miss lines and cues’ when on set.
After finally receiving the diagnosis, Emma was told there was ‘no hope’ and no cure, which left her ‘panicked and free-falling’.
When asked how Bruce reacted to the news, she shared: ‘I don’t think he ever connected the dots.’
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’.
Due to noise causing agitation for people with FTD, Emma had to ‘isolate’ the family and stop having guests over, eventually making ‘one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make’ – moving Bruce to a second, one-storey home where he could receive around the clock 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,’ she said.
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.
‘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.
Bruce also shares daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, with his ex-wife Demi Moore.
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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