Bruce Willis’ wife finally breaks silence over backlash surrounding his move to specialized care home

Since February 2023, Die Hard actor Bruce Willis has been struggling with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). His condition has worsened over the years, and his wife Emma and his family have had to try out different methods for his recovery.

On the ABC documentary special, "Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey," aired on August 26, 2025, Emma Heming Willis opened up to Diane Sawyer about Bruce’s health condition and revealed that he has been relocated to a one-story home, where professional caregivers look after the 70-year-old actor.

People were quick to judge her over the decision to live separately and move her husband to a dementia care facility.

She even said that it was one of her ‘’toughest decisions,’’ but the backlash grew to such an extent that she had to address the issue on Instagram three days later. 

While addressing the negative and hateful comments, she said that people are ‘’quick’’ to criticize. She foresaw the criticism and sort of knew that it would divide her audience into two distinct camps: those armed with opinions and those armed with experience.

Bruce Willis’s wife Emma defended her decision while calling out the backlash 

In her Instagram video, she said,

‘’What I knew is that by sharing some of our intimate information that we would see these two camps, people with opinions and people with actual experience.’’ 

She added,

"That is what caregivers are up against. Judgement from others. Everyone will have an opinion, but you have to remind yourself that most don’t have the experience to back it up.’’

She even read one particular part from her upcoming memoir,

“Nothing changes an opinion quite as powerfully as when you have an experience. Even if someone is familiar with dementia or the condition you’re caring for, they aren’t in your home. They don’t see how your person is behaving or what your family dynamics are.”

She concluded the video by saying,

“The truth is the opinions are so loud and so noisy. But if they don’t have the experience, they don’t get a say, and they definitely don’t get a vote.”

Emma spoke about Bruce Willis' recovery on the ABC special

Her aim for sharing the information was to amplify FTD awareness and promote her book titled Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey, which is expected to be on the shelves next month, on September 9.

In the emotional interview on ABC, Susan Dickson, CEO of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, brought clarity to the realities of the disease. Emma even said that the actor is in "great health" physically, but his ‘’brain is failing him.’’ She continued,

‘’Bruce is still very mobile and is in really great health overall, you know.’’

Bruce was also in favour of moving to a separate home as he wanted a safer and more comfortable space for his two daughters, 13-year-old Mabel and 11-year-old Evelyn. She told Sawyer, 

’'Bruce would want that for our daughters. He would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.’’

She said that Bruce’s new home radiates ‘’love, warmth, and care.’’ Despite living separately and making tough choices, what still comforts her is to witness that Bruce's family and friends continue to show up for him and fill that space with ‘’life and joy.’’