Bruce Willis‘ wife, Emma Heming Willis, gives an update on her husband’s health following his diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) three years ago. The Die Hard and Pulp Fiction actor is 70 years old and retired from Hollywood the same year as his diagnosis, his final movie being 2023’s ᴀssᴀssin.

Ahead of the release of her book The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, coming out on September 9, Heming Willis sat down to talk with Diana Swayer via ABC. A preview of this interview aired on Good Morning America on August 26, while the full special, тιтled Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey, aired that evening.

Heming Willis told Sawyer, since his diagnosis with aphasia: “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, and you know, we’ve learned to adapt. And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different, a different way.”

While dementia is a broader term for cognitive decline, the neurodegenerative condition aphasia specifically affects communication. Heming Willis, 49, refers to herself and Willis’ five daughters learning to communicate with him in new ways; the couple share two daughters, while the actor’s other three children are from his previous marriage to Demi Moore.

Heming Willis also revealed the symptoms she noticed before her husband’s official diagnosis: “he was just a little more quiet, and when the family would get together, he would kind of just melt a little bit. […] He felt a little removed, very cold. Not like Bruce, who is very warm and affectionate. To go in the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary.“

Now, Heming Willis says that they “still get those days. Not days but moments,” of his old personality. “He has such a hearty laugh. And, you know, sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye or that spark, and, you know, I just get, like, transported. And it’s just hard because, as quickly as those moments appear, then it goes.“

The special Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey is also now available to stream via Disney+ and Hulu.

What This Means For Bruce Willis & His Family

The Willis family is handling his condition as any family unit would, adjusting as best they can, still having a fundamental connection with their husband and father. Heming Willis reveals that there are painful moments, but comments on possible misconceptions about her husband’s health, as she stresses that he is very healthy otherwise.

Meanwhile, Heming Willis is setting out to connect with other families impacted by aphasia and similar conditions through speaking about her experiences publicly. The тιтle of her upcoming book suggests that it is written for people who are in the caregiver role, helping them find new self-encouragement when someone they looked to for support is impacted by such a disease.

Our Take On Emma Heming Willis’ Interview

Heming Willis and her family are under no obligation to share details about their personal lives, but she seems to want to accomplish something positive. When there is no cure for dementia, all families of someone diagnosed with it can do is find a new way of doing things and foster positivity in their lives.

Bruce Willis is a very high-profile case of this happening, and Emma Heming Willis is attempting to handle the public side of this in a constructive way.