Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, recently gave further insight into the retired actor’s ordeal with Frontotemporal Dementia, noting that their kids, Mabel and Evelyn, noticed the changes before he got diagnosed. She took up the task of educating their little girls, admitting that she never tried to sugarcoat the situation.
During the conversation with Town & Country for their November 2024 Philanthropy issue, she raised awareness about the rareness of the disease, which makes it hard to detect. Bruce was initially diagnosed with aphasia in 2022 and then FTD later that year.
Bruce Willis’ kids saw him declining before dementia diagnosis
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Emma revealed that their kids witnessed the onset of his symptoms, which was the change in his language, although masked by his longtime stutter. The 46-year-old dismissed the signs at first, as she did not believe her husband could have dementia so young.
Bruce’s behavior could no longer be ignored as he struggled to read or memorize scripts while at work. He also struggled with communication, and this affected his relationship with loved ones. He eventually retired from acting at 67, after starring as Ian Swan in Paradise City.
So far, Bruce’s family—including his ex-wife Demi Moore and their grown-up kids Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah—have been supportive, giving updates to the public in the last two years. His state has brought the blended family closer as they try to make more memories with him before his inevitable passing. Last month, Tallulah disclosed that he has been stable lately, although his condition gets worse on some days.
His wife has used her platform to reach out to affected persons and caregivers and is set to receive the Susan Newhouse & Si Newhouse Award of Hope next year, courtesy of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD). Bruce has been spotted in public lately, his last being in California with a bodyguard close by.