One of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023. Now, Bruce Willis’s 47-year-old wife has admitted that she lives separately from her husband with their daughters — 13-year-old Mabel and 11-year-old Evelyn. The couple decided to move Bruce into a separate home.
“This was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. But I knew that, above all, Bruce would want this for our daughters. You know, he would want them to live in a home that suits their needs better than his,” Emma Heming said.
The actor was relocated to a house adapted to meet the needs of someone living with his condition. It was designed as a quiet, comfortable space, making it easier for Bruce to navigate. “When we visit him, we either go for walks or watch a movie… The most important thing is to be near him and talk with Bruce. This home is filled with love, warmth, care, and laughter. And it’s so heartwarming to see that many of Bruce’s friends still come to visit, bringing joy and happiness into his life,” his wife shared in an interview with Diane Sawyer for the ABC News special Emma and Bruce Willis: An Unexpected Journey.
Heming and Willis have been married for 16 years. Together, they have worked hard to keep their blended family strong. Willis has three daughters — Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah — with his first wife Demi Moore. Emma has a wonderful relationship with the actress and her stepdaughters. They can all visit Bruce at any time, and in June they joined together to celebrate Heming’s birthday.
The former model revealed that it was actually Scout who raised the alarm when Emma began struggling with her mental health. While trying to cope with Bruce’s diagnosis and raising two young daughters, she wasn’t receiving the professional support she needed. Scout told her that she was more worried about Emma than about Bruce. “I’ll never forget when Scout said that to me. And I thought: ‘Wow. Okay. I’m losing control. I need to pull myself together.’”
After that, the Die Hard star’s wife sought help for her depression and hired a full-time caregiver for her husband. In September, Heming is set to release her book An Unexpected Journey: How to Find Strength, Hope, and Yourself While Caring for Others. The book is meant to help others who find themselves in similar circumstances. “This is my motivation — to raise awareness about this disease. I want people to be diagnosed earlier, and for families to be able to get help and participate in research,” Emma added.
