Bruce Willis’ Wife Is ‘Really Happy’ About One Side Effect of His Dementia

Emma Heming Willis has made it clear that being a caregiver to someone you love is not an easy job, but she still manages to find the “beautiful” in the struggles.

As TMZ reports, Heming Willis—the Die Hardstar’s wife of nearly 20 years—sat down with Cameron Rogers, host of the motherhood and mental health-focused Conversations With Cam Podcast, to share an update on the state of Willis’ health.

She shared that one of the side effects of Willis’ frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a neurological condition known as anosognosia, “where your brain can’t identify what is happening to it,” she explained. 

“So, where people think this might be denial—like, they don’t want to go to the doctor because they think, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine’—actually, this is the anosognosia that comes into play.”

Heming Willis revealed that because of the condition, “Bruce never tapped in. He never connected the dots that he had this disease and I’m really happy about that. I’m really happy that he doesn’t know.”

She also shared that many people seem to have a misunderstanding of his condition, and confirmed that Willis “is still very much present in his body. So when someone says to me, like, ‘Does Bruce still know who you are?’ Yes, he does. Because he doesn’t have Alzheimer’s, he has FTD.”

Still, Willis’ condition has required many adjustments on the part of Emma and the couple’s two young daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11. 

“He has a way of connecting with me [and] our children that might not be the same as you would connect with your loved one,” Emma explained. “But it’s still very beautiful. It’s still very meaningful. It’s just different. You learn how to adapt.”

What Condition Does Bruce Willis Have?

In 2022, Bruce Willis’ family announced that he had been diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder that creates difficulty with speech and communication. Because of the effects of the condition, the two-time Emmy winner also announced that he was retiring from acting.

One year later, in 2023, the Willis family shared that Bruce had been given a more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, also known as FTD. It’s a progressive brain disorder that includes aphasia, but due to the damage it can have on both the frontal and temporal lobes, its progression can lead to changes in personality, behavior, and physical body movement. Some of the symptoms associated with the disease include impulsivity, inappropriate behavior in social settings, apathy, loss of coordination, and lack of empathy.