Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022, before it progressed to FTD the following year.
Emma Heming Willis “will not let” her husband Bruce Willis’ frontotemporal dementia (FTD) “diagnosis be in vain”.
The Die Hard star was diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder that affects a person’s ability to speak, understand, read, or write, in 2022, before it progressed to FTD, a group of brain disorders affecting personality, behaviour, and language, in 2023.
And Emma, 50, has declared that Bruce is the “driving force behind my advocacy” in supporting others affected by the condition, having launched the Emma and Bruce Willis Fund for Dementia Research and Caregiver Support in March.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday (01.10.26) to mark World FTD Awareness Week, she posted a shot of her spouse enjoying the sunshine, with the caption: “I can’t go through World FTD Awareness Week without talking about Bruce.
“He is the driving force behind my advocacy. He has opened so many doors for me in this work, and I will continue to walk through them.
“I will not let his diagnosis be in vain. I know how proud he would be to know that he is helping families living with FTD, other forms of dementia and their care partners be seen and heard.
“In this next chapter of his life, Bruce continues to build on his legacy. He is, and always will be, a f****** legend. And I am so proud to be his wife.”
Emma and Bruce, who married in 2009, are parents to Mabel, 14, and Evelyn, 12, while he is also dad to Rumer, 38, Scout, 35, and Tallulah, 32, with his 63-year-old ex-wife, actress Demi Moore.
Emma recently hit out at the misconception that Bruce’s dementia diagnosis means he no longer recognises his family.
Last month, she told Britain’s HELLO! magazine: “We are talking about a disease that’s extremely common; it is estimated that by the year 2050 cases are going to triple.
“And, yet, misunderstandings continue because it has always been surrounded by a lot of shame and stigmas.
“It’s really eye-opening to see that one of the very first questions almost everyone asks me is, ‘Does Bruce still remember you?’ And my answer is always a resounding yes.
“Bruce doesn’t have Alzheimer’s; he has frontotemporal dementia, which affects a completely different part of the brain. “
However, Bruce is unaware he has dementia.
Appearing on a January episode of the Conversations with Cam podcast, Emma revealed: “Bruce never, never tapped in.
“I think that’s like the blessing and the curse of this, is that he never connected the dots that he had this disease, and I’m really happy about that. I’m really happy that he doesn’t know about it.”
Emma Heming Willis ‘will not let’ Bruce Willis’ frontotemporal dementia ‘diagnosis be in vain’
