Bruce Willis' family marred by actor's incurable dementia: 'It's hard'

Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis has opened up about her husband’s dementia diagnosis, as well as the struggles she’s faced as his primary caregiver.

Emma sat down with Today’s Hoda Kotb on Monday, Sept. 25, to kick off World Frontotemporal Dementia Awareness Week, after the Die Hard actor was diagnosed with the neurological condition earlier this year.

"Dementia is hard," shared Heming Willis. "It’s hard on the person diagnosed, it’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say this is a family disease, it really is."

She also expressed skepticism on whether the retired actor is aware of his condition.

"It's hard to know," she said.

Bruce Willis was initially diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder which affects a person’s communication abilities, in March 2022.

In February 2023, the actor’s family revealed that his condition has worsened to frontotemporal dementia, affecting language, communication, and mobility among other parts of the brain.

Heming Willis noted that as a “care partner,” it is “important to look after themselves so that they can be the best care partner for the person they’re caring for.”

She concluded her conversation by describing Willis as the “gift that keeps on giving,” noting that their two daughters, Mabel and Evelyn, take after him in “love, patience and resilience.”