Bruce Willis' wife Emma Heming Willis has shared a throwback photo of the actor holding their daughter as she continues to share insight into their life following his dementia diagnosis.
In March 2022, the Die Hard star retired from acting, and in February 2023, his loved ones announced he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The rare condition causes problems with behavior and language as it progresses, impacting memory and physical ability.
Since his diagnosis, Willis has been largely out of the public eye. However, Heming Willis, who shares daughters Evelyn, 10, and Mabel, 12, with the star, occasionally provides a glimpse into their life, on social media.
Posting to her Instagram story on Tuesday, the mother shared two paparazzi shots, one of her carrying Mabel and in the other, Willis can be seen lifting Mabel out of her stroller. As Instagram stories are designed to expire after 24 hours, this post is no longer visible on her account.
"Goodness. Mabel was this little last time we were in Paris. Bruce was filming Red 2. Good times," she captioned the post.
Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Heming Willis for comment on Thursday.
This isn't the only throwback content Heming Willis has recently shared, as she previously uploaded an old video of the actor crossing a road with Evelyn on his shoulders. Filmed when she was younger, Evelyn giggled as her dad pretended to nibble her leg. It quickly went viral.
The former model also uploaded a cryptic post to her Instagram story earlier this month, indicating her angst over the realities of her husband's dementia. Posting a unique diagram, she wrote in the caption: "Looks about right." It included the words "anxious," "nervous," and "confused."
As Heming Willis is very public about the realities of FTD, the diagram could relate to what it's like loving someone who has the progressive brain disease, although this hasn't been confirmed.
In the photo, a piece of paper has the word "hopeful" written at the top, with arrows leading on a path to various other words, such as "sad," "defeated" and "isolated." The path then reaches the word "hopeful" written again, this time at the bottom of the page.
Heming Willis is an advocate for patients and caretakers dealing with the incurable disease and has become involved in efforts to advance important legislation and research. In 2025, the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD) will honor her with an award for her efforts in raising awareness for FTD.
During an October interview with Town & Country, Heming Willis told how she explained her husband's deteriorating health to their children. After speaking with her therapist, Heming Willis learned that if her children were asking questions, it meant they were ready to be told the honest answer.
"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 explained. "Obviously, I don't like to speak about the terminal side of this with them, nor have they asked. They know that daddy's not going to get better."
She added: "There is no treatment, which is why I'm out there raising awareness, so that they can see that we have some agency in this. I'm not going to allow FTD to take our whole family down. Bruce wouldn't want that. They're going to see me fight for our family, have some hope, and help the next family out there."
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