Emma Heming Willis has opened up about the most difficult decision she’s made since her husband Bruce Willis was diagnosed with dementia. The 47-year-old wife of the action star made the difficult decision to move the 70-year-old actor into a separate home where he can receive professional care around the clock.
“It was one of the hardest decisions that I’ve had to make so far,” Emma said during an emotional TV interview with ABC News that aired on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. She explained that Bruce would want what’s best for their daughters because he wouldn’t want them living in a home designed for his medical needs instead of theirs.
The family’s struggle began in March 2022 when Willis stepped away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that affects speech and language. In 2023, doctors gave him a more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, a disease for which there is no known cure.
This type of dementia primarily affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, causing changes in personality, language difficulties, and compulsive or repetitive behaviors. For Willis, known for movies like Die Hard and Pulp Fiction, the disease has gradually taken away his ability to communicate normally.
Emma told ABC News that while her husband is mobile and generally in good health, his brain is failing him. She explained that the language part is going, but the family has learned to adapt and found a different way of communicating with him.
Before Bruce got sick, he always loved taking their daughters Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, to school. Emma noticed something was wrong when those daily school runs started happening less frequently. She also observed her normally warm husband becoming more distant.
When doctors first told Emma about Bruce’s dementia diagnosis, she felt completely unprepared. She walked out of that doctor’s appointment with nothing but a pamphlet and instructions to check back in a few months.
At first, Emma attempted to manage Bruce’s care at home while maintaining a normal life for their children. But she found herself isolating the family from social activities because she learned that noise made Bruce’s condition worse.
Emma began saying no to their daughters having playdates and sleepovers at their house. She wasn’t sure if parents would feel comfortable leaving their children at their home. Emma admitted that she had isolated their whole family by design, calling it a difficult time.
The breaking point came when Emma realized this arrangement was unfair to their children. That’s when she made the painful decision to move Bruce to a separate one-story house where he could receive 24-hour care from professional caregivers.
Although they live separately now, the family remains very close. Emma visits Bruce every day and eats breakfast and dinner with him. She describes his new home as a house filled with love, warmth, care, and laughter.
Their daughters visit their dad regularly, and Bruce also gets visits from his three older daughters from his first marriage to actress Demi Moore. The 37-year-old Rumer, 34-year-old Scout, and 31-year-old Tallulah all spend time with their father.
Emma said that Bruce still recognizes her, and when she enters his room, he lights up. She added that he shares the same connection with his five daughters, who regularly check in on him. The family can hold his hands, kiss him, and hug him, and he responds positively to their affection.
Emma has turned her experience into a way to help other families going through similar situations. She wrote a book called “The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path,” which is scheduled for release in September.
The book emerged from Emma’s frustration with how little guidance she received when Bruce was first diagnosed. She wants other caregivers to feel less alone and better prepared than she was during those initial difficult months.
Emma has also co-founded Make Time Wellness, a company focused on women’s brain health, and has become an advocate for families dealing with dementia. She points out that caring for someone with frontotemporal dementia can cost nearly $120,000 per year on average.
Through her advocacy work, Emma emphasizes that caregivers share common feelings of sadness, grief, anger, and resentment, regardless of their background or circumstances. She believes that this shared experience creates a vital bond among those facing similar challenges.
The Willis family’s situation reflects what millions of American families experience when dealing with dementia. Nearly 7 million older adults in the United States have Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia, while frontotemporal dementia, like Bruce’s, is one of the most common forms affecting people under 60.
Medical experts predict the number of people with dementia worldwide could triple by 2050, making Emma’s advocacy work and upcoming book increasingly important for future families facing similar challenges.
Bruce Willis ended his decades-long Hollywood career in 2022 as his condition progressed. He became famous for starring in blockbuster movies and TV series, including the “Die Hard” series, “Moonlighting,” “The Sixth Sense,” and “Pulp Fiction,” establishing himself as one of the biggest action stars of his generation.
