Bruce Willis’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, has responded to critics who questioned her choice to move the actor out of their family home as his dementia progresses.
Emma, 47, said this week that the 70-year-old Die Hard star, who has frontotemporal dementia (FTD), would want their daughters’ lives to be as normal as possible despite changes in the home.
“Too often, caregivers are judged quickly and unfairly by those who haven’t lived this journey or stood on the front lines of it,” she wrote on Instagram after facing online criticism.
The model and entrepreneur called the decision the “hardest” she’s made. She added that she expected judgment but wanted to share her experience to “create connection and validation for those actually navigating the realities of caregiving every day.”
“That’s who I share for, so I can build a deeper connection with a community that understands this journey,” Emma said.
She also noted that critics often “don’t have the experience to back it up,” which makes their opinions less meaningful. “The truth is, the opinions are so loud and they’re so noisy, but if they don’t have any experience of this, they don’t get a say.”
Willis is now living in a one-story home with a full-time care team as his needs grow more complex. According to the NHS, frontotemporal dementia, which Willis was diagnosed with in February 2023, affects behavior and language and worsens over time.
“He would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs,” she told Diane Sawyer in the ABC special Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey.
Emma and Bruce married in 2009 and share two daughters, 13-year-old Mabel and 11-year-old Evelyn. She said she tries to keep their routines consistent by having breakfast and dinner with the girls and their dad.
“When we go over, either we’re outside, or we’re watching a movie,” she explained. “It’s just really about being able to be there and connect with Bruce.”
She described their home as “filled with love, warmth, care, and laughter” and praised Bruce’s friends for continuing to support him and bring joy into his life.
Updating on his health, Emma said, “Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall. It’s just his brain that is failing him.”
She explained that his language skills are declining, but the family has “learned to adapt.” Emma also recently wrote a book about her caregiving journey titled The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path.
Willis maintains a strong relationship with his ex-wife, Demi Moore, with whom he shares three children: Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah. The family has called the disease “cruel” and without a cure.
Earlier this year, Rumer, 37, spoke about the difficulty of not being able to communicate with her father as she once did. In a Father’s Day post, she wrote:
“Today is hard. I feel a deep ache in my chest to talk to you and tell you everything I’m doing and what’s going on in my life. To hug you and ask you about life and your stories and struggles and successes. I wish I asked you more questions while you could still tell me about it all.”
