Bruce Willis' wife says mistakes were made long before he developed dementia

It has been a very trying last few years for Bruce Willis and his family. An aphasia diagnosis in 2022 was followed by frontotemporal dementia in 2023. Since then, we haven't seen much of Willis, as he fights a private battle that has left him unable to speak.

There hasn't been a ton of good news in recent times, although we've seen Willis out and about on a couple of occasions. Despite his ability to communicate normally being stripped from him, his family has mentioned in the past that he's "still Bruce". With that in mind, they can spend quality time with him and enjoy each others' presence.

The dual diagnosis has left many wondering how the conditions developed in Willis' brain. There has been plenty of research done over the years, but there are still a lot of questions that don't have answers yet.

Bruce Willis had a stutter as a child, which was an early warning sign

And it gets even more complicated in Willis' case. As a child, Willis had a stutter that essentially masked any early warning signs. His wife, Emma Heming Willis, spoke to Katie Couric in a recent interview and revealed details.

For Bruce, it started with language. He had a severe stutter as a child... That's what propelled him into acting. Bruce has always had a stutter, but he has been good at covering it up. As his language started changing, it [seemed like it] was just a part of a stutter, it was just Bruce. Never in a million years would I think it would be a form of dementia for someone so young.

Speech impediments are quite common, relatively speaking, so it's tough to discern which ones could be an early sign for a future condition. It's a case by case basis.