Emma Heming’s two daughters with Bruce Willis — Mabel,12, and Evelyn, 10 — witnessed their father’s health “declining” long before his heartbreaking dementia diagnosis.
“I’ve never tried to sugarcoat anything for them. They’ve grown up with Bruce declining over the years,” Heming, 46, said of the “Die Hard” actor, 69, in a new interview with Town & Country Magazine, published Tuesday.
“I’m not trying to shield them from it,” she added.
The model explained that her husband’s disease is often “misdiagnosed,” “missed” and “misunderstood.”
“Finally getting to a diagnosis was key,” she continued, “so that I could learn what frontotemporal dementia is and I could educate our children.”
The signs of Willis’ frontotemporal dementia (FTD) battle didn’t happen overnight, Heming shared, noting that he had initially been diagnosed with aphasia — a medical condition that can affect a person’s ability to speak, write and understand verbal and written language — in 2022.
“I say that FTD whispers, it doesn’t shout. It’s hard for me to say, ‘This is where Bruce ended, and this is where his disease started to take over,'” she explained. “He was diagnosed two years ago, but a year prior we had a loose diagnosis of aphasia, which is a symptom of a disease but is not the disease.”
Heming decided to be open with her young children about their dad’s health issues.
“What I learned from our therapist was that if children ask questions, they’re ready to know the answer,” she said.
“If we could see that Bruce was struggling, I would address it with the kids so they could understand, but this disease is chronic, progressive and terminal. There is no cure,” she added.
Heming noted that she does not discuss the “terminal side” of Willis’ condition and they have not asked about his life expectancy.
“They know that Daddy’s not going to get better,” she noted.
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As there is no treatment for FTD, Heming has dedicated herself to raising awareness so she can have “some agency in this.”
“I’m not going to allow FTD to take our whole family down. Bruce wouldn’t want that,” she said.
”They’re going to see me fight for our family, have some hope and help the next family out there.”
Heming said that she has been touched by the outpouring of love that she and her family have received since they revealed Willis’ diagnosis last February.
“I wanted them to see us come out with our family statement, and I get goosebumps thinking about it how it was received with so much love and compassion,” she said. “We’ve been able to raise awareness on a global scale, and they could see the reach and impact that their father has. That’s a beautiful thing.”
Heming and Willis tied the knot in 2009. The “Pulp Fiction” star was also married to Demi Moore from 1987 to 2000 and they share three daughters: Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 30.
English (US) ·