Bruce Willis' wife Emma makes heartbreaking admission about star's dementia battle
Bruce Willis's wife Emma Heming Willis has revealed that the star doesn't know he has dementia.
The 70-year-old Die Hard actor's family announced in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a form of dementia that causes a rapid decline in the areas of the brain linked to personality and language abilities.
The Hollywood star also has anosognosia, a condition where the brain can't recognize one or more other health conditions.
Speaking in the Conversations with Cam podcast, Heming, 47, claimed that Willis never connected the dots when it came to understanding his illness, which she said was a 'blessing.'
'Bruce never, never tapped in,' she said.
'I think that's like the blessing and the curse of this, is that 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 about it.'
Heming described anosognosia as where the brain 'can't identify what is happening to it,' so her husband and others with the disease 'think this is their normal.'
Emma Heming Willis has claimed husband Bruce doesn't know he has dementia
The model and actress, 47, has said she is 'really happy that he doesn't know about it'
She continued: 'People think this might be denial, like they don't want to go to the doctor because they're like, "I'm fine, I'm fine," actually, this is the anosognosia that comes into play.
'It's not denial. It's just that their brain is changing. This is a part of the disease.'
Heming shares daughters Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11 with Willis, who also has daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, with ex-wife Demi Moore.
In August, she revealed in an interview with Diane Sawyer that Willis had been moved into a separate one-story home away from their main house, where he has a full-time care team.
Heming herself said moving her husband into a separate residence was the best decision for their family.
She added that moving Willis into a new home where is supported by carers 24/7, has allowed her to go back to just being his wife.
At the time, she told The Sunday Times: 'It was of the hardest decisions I ever had to make.
'But among the sadness and discomfort, it was the right move — for him, for our girls, for me. Ultimately, I could get back to being his wife. And that's such a gift.'
Willis' family announced in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia
The Hollywood star has been surrounded by his blended family, including his wife as well as ex Demi Moore, and all his daughters, who have rallied around him to help him cope with his health struggles
She added the move also gave Willis more independence and the chance to reconnect with friends and family.
She explained: 'It's made such a difference for more friends and family to have their own experience with him without it being my home, without me hovering, or my anxiety of how to manage the guest and their expectations, and then have to see their reactions - their sadness at what is.'
FTD eats away at the parts of the brain that control language, behavior and personality. Unlike Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, patients don't lose their memory immediately but instead undergo personality changes.
The disease also attacks areas of the brain responsible for judgment, impulse control and decision-making, leading patients vulnerable to mismanaging their finances, which adds an extra burden on to caregivers.
