One ‘Blessing’ (And 'Curse') With Bruce Willis’ Diagnosis, According To His Wife

The past several years have sadly seen 70-year-old actor Bruce Willis face health challenges. Willis retired from acting in 2022, with his team saying that he’d been diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that affects a person’s speech and comprehension functions. In 2023, that diagnosis was updated to frontotemporal dementia and, since then, Willis’ family – led by his wife, Emma Heming – have been caring for him and sharing updates. Emma is now getting real about one “blessing” and “curse” of her spouse’s health situation.

As of late, 47-year-old Emma Heming Willis has been promoting her new book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path. In it, Heming Willis chronicles her experiences serving as a caregiver for her husband over the past several years. While the mother of two discussed various health related-topics during the tour, she just recently took to Instagram to highlight a term known as anosognosia, which she wishes she would’ve discussed more while during interviews.

Heming Willis explained in her post that anosognosia – which is mentioned in her book – is a neurological condition in which a person is unaware of the details regarding their own illness. The health advocate’s post notes that this isn’t “denial” but a natural “part of the disease” in which a person downplays the severity of their condition or finds some kind of way to rationalize this. Bruce apparently didn’t experience this, and Heming Willis laid out how this was a positive development for him and a not-so-positive one for her:

As his wife explains it, due to not having anosognosia, the Die Hard icon wasn’t cognizant of his health struggles, which she sees as the “blessing,” in this case. However, the “curse” Emma Heming Willis mentions here is the fact that not only has she had to contend with the situation but also shoulder much of the emotional baggage, given her husband isn’t aware of his condition. Just as Heming Willis goes on to mention in her post, there are many other caregivers who are also in her shoes.

Heming Willis has been incredibly candid about what it’s been like caring for Bruce and how, in some ways, it’s “taken a toll” on her and her family. In recent months, she’s also discussed how Bruce’s communication skills have been impacted by dementia. Nevertheless, Emma has sought to remain optimistic during this time, even sharing that she believes a silver lining in the situation is that she feels as though their “love story has only grown and developed more.”

During this time, Emma Heming Willis has not only sought to protect her husband and family but also defend herself at times. She recently did so when she shut down the “debate” over her decision to put her spouse in a care facility as his disease progresses. It goes without saying that it’s hard to imagine what it’s like being in Heming Willis’ shoes. However, there’s beauty in the fact that even amid such an emotionally draining period in her life, she can acknowledge the bright spots as well as the negative ones.