"It's just his brain that is failing him" - Bruce Willis's wife Emma Heming opens up about her 'hardest decision' after his dementia diagnosis

Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming has given an update into the Die Hard superstar’s health. The 70-year-old Willis, who is living with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), was first diagnosed with a speaking disorder named aphasia in March 2022, after which he retired from acting, as per CNN.

While speaking to television anchor Diane Sawyer for an expansive conversation titled Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey, which will be aired on August 26, Heming provided an insight into what Willis and her daily life looks like now. In a clip from the upcoming ABC program, shared by Good Morning America, Heming said,

“Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall. You know, it's just his brain that is failing him…The language is going.”

Heming has penned the upcoming book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, which explores how she moulded her daily life to become a constant caregiver for her husband.

Emma Heming also addressed one of the ‘hardest decisions’ she had to make in wake of Bruce Willis’ FTD diagnosis

Emma Heming and Bruce Willis, who got married in 2009, share two daughters, 13-year-old Mabel and 11-year-old Evelyn, as per People Magazine. Willis is also a father to three other daughters, Rumer, Scout and Tallulah, whom she shared with his former wife, actress Demi Moore.

During her conversation with Diane Sawyer, Heming opened up about a decision she had to take for the sake of her husband and her young daughters. Sharing that she “isolated our whole family…by design,” Heming explained that as a result of FTD, patients can get agitated if exposed to excessive noise, as per People Magazine. Willis’ wife stopped inviting her children’s friends to their home for playdates and sleepovers to protect the former actor. She said,

“I didn’t know if parents would feel comfortable leaving their kid at our home…That was a hard time.”

Eventually, People Magazine notes that Heming said she made the decision to have Willis move into a separate home where he would receive constant care. Noting that it was “one of the hardest decisions I've had to make,” Heming added that she eats breakfast and dinner with Willis everyday.

In a clip from Good Morning America, Heming addressed how Willis’ symptoms initially manifested. Heming, while speaking to Sawyer, said,

“For someone who was very talkative and very engaged, he was just a little more more quiet. And when the family would get together, he would kind of just melt a little bit…felt a little removed, very cold, not like Bruce, who is very warm and affectionate. To going the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary.”

Sawyer noted in the segment that in addition to the changes experienced by the critically acclaimed actor, a stutter from his childhood reappeared.

Heming has repeatedly pulled focus to the drastic changes experienced by family members and loved ones of those who suffer from FTD. About her own reaction to her husband’s diagnosis, she told Sawyer,

“I didn’t understand what it was…I was so panicked and I just remember hearing it and just not hearing anything else. It was like I was free falling.”

Heming also explained that according to her, Willis never really understood his own diagnosis. As per People Magazine, Heming added that Willis is still aware of the loving gestures from his family members.