NEED TO KNOW
Bruce Willis’s wife Emma Heming revealed the actor now lives in a separate home from his family
Emma sat down with Diana Sawyer for an emotional interview titled “Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey” released on Aug. 26
“Bruce is in really great health, overall, it’s just his brain that is failing him,” Emma shared in a rare update
Emma Heming Willis is revealing one of the ‘hardest decisions’ she’s had to make so far amid husband Bruce Willis’ frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis.
Bruce, 70 and Emma, 47, married in March 2009. More than a decade into the marriage, Emma revealed Bruce’s aphasia diagnosis in 2022. Less than a year later, he was diagnosed with FTD, a group of brain disorders that can lead to speech issues, loss of motor skills and personality changes. Through all of it, Emma has been by her husband’s side.
In an ABC special titled Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey released on Aug. 26, the mother of two told Diane Sawyer her husband now lives in a separate home.
“I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters,” Emma says of their girls Mabel Ray, 13 and Evelyn Penn, 11. “He would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.”
Bruce and Emma welcomed Mabel in April 2012 and Evelyn in May 2014. Bruce also shares three adult children with ex-wife Demi Moore, 62.
According to Sawyer, the family made the decision to move the Die Hard actor into a second home nearby “some time ago.” The one-story building is safe for both him and his 24-hour care team to navigate.
The decision came after Emma began to slowly isolate their family. She learned noise can cause agitation to Bruce’s condition. As a result, the mom stopped hosting playdates and sleepovers for the girls.
“I didn’t know if parents would feel comfortable leaving their kid at our home,” she said. “I isolated our whole family, and that was by design…That was a hard time.”
Relocating the movie star to a different home means the blended family and friends can visit often. Emma comes over for breakfast in the morning and again at night.
“We’re there a lot,” Emma says. “It’s our second home, so the girls have their things there.”
She added: “It is, you know, a house that is filled with love and warmth and care and laughter. It’s been beautiful to see that, to see how many of Bruce’s friends continue to show up for him, you know, they bring in life and fun.”
Sawyer, who has interviewed Bruce a number of times over the years, was invited to the home without cameras. According to the journalist, he seemed “happy” and “healthy.”
Larry Busacca/Getty
Emma Heming and Bruce Willis attend the 2009 Met Gala.
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“Bruce is still very mobile,” Emma says elsewhere in the interview. “Bruce is in really great health, overall, it’s just his brain that is failing him.”
“The language is going, and, you know, we’ve learned to adapt,” she adds. “We have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different, a different way.”
Emma’s book The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope and Yourself on the Caregiving Path is out Sept. 9, and available now for preorder wherever books are sold.
Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey is streaming now on Hulu and Disney+.
Read the original article on People
