Celebrity
Bruce Willis’ Wife Shares The First Subtle Signs Of His Dementia
The wife of Bruce Willis has recounted the concerning dementia symptoms the 70-year-old had prior to receiving his shocking diagnosis.
The family of the former action star disclosed in 2023 that he had frontotemporal degeneration (FTD).
FTD is a ‘uncommon’ form of dementia that affects the brain’s lobes behind the forehead, affecting a person’s language and conduct. Unfortunately, there is neither a treatment nor a method to limit the disease’s progression.
According to Alzheimer’s Disease International, there are currently over 55 million dementia sufferers globally, and by 2050, that number is predicted to rise to 139 million.
In a recent TV interview, Emma Heming Willis, Willis’ wife of 16 years, talked candidly about the star’s “alarming” initial symptoms.
She told Diane Sawyer of ABC News that it’s “really gray” to pinpoint the exact moment her husband’s illness first manifested, but it began with some odd but little regular adjustments.
What were Bruce Willis’ first dementia symptoms?
Routine changes
“He would always love taking the girls to school. And then those school runs just started to not happen as much,” she recalled, referring to their two daughters, Mabel Ray Willis, 13, and Evelyn Penn Willis, 11.
Emma claimed that instead of performing his typical obligations as a devoted father, he would simply “say nothing.”
“For someone who was very talkative and very engaged, he was just a little more more quiet and when the family would get together, he would kind of just melt a little bit,” Emma went on.
She found it difficult to understand and wondered if the misunderstandings were related to Bruce losing his hearing in one ear following a stunt in the original Die Hard movie.
Speech deterioration
Emma saw the recurrence of his childhood stutter as the second “haunting” sign. The celebrity had previously disclosed in a biography that he had a speech impairment and could “hardly talk” when he was younger.
“I started noticing that Bruce’s stutter did reappear. I definitely started noticing it rev up a little bit more,” Emma recalled.
Personality on mute
But the most concerning shift was the loss of his typically “very warm and affectionate” manner.
He appeared “removed” and “very cold,” instead, a shift she called “alarming and scary.”
Marital issues
They also started having’marital troubles’ that had never existed before.
Emma claims that when she questioned Willis about them and asked if he was “okay,” he would “just dismiss it” and that things became “bumpy and very confusing.”
How is Bruce Willis doing now?
Emma disclosed in other parts of the exclusive interview that Willis is still ambulatory and in “excellent health overall,” but that his brain is “failing him.”
Since his “language is going,” the family has also had to adjust to a new method of communication with him. They do, however, occasionally catch glimpses of Bruce’s former self when the “twinkle in his eye” momentarily reappears.
“Not days, but we get moments,” Emma explained. “It’s his laugh, right? He has such a hearty laugh. And sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk, and I just get transported.”
She added, “And it’s just hard to see, because as quickly as those moments appear, then it goes. It’s hard. But I’m grateful. I’m grateful that my husband is still very much here.”
The model and actress was moved to write The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, a book on her family’s experience, after taking on the role of full-time caregiver for Willis.
Speaking of transitioning into Willis’s carer, she said, “Those early stages were deeply isolating. I struggled with a sense of powerlessness, feeling as if I had no control over what was happening to my family.”
“At the same time, I was grappling with grief, the loss of the life I had known, all while raising our two young daughters.”
However, Emma reports that the family was “met with an outpouring of kindness and global support” when they made Willis’ condition public in 2023.
Now, she wishes she had ‘taken the leap of faith and asked for help sooner,’ explaining, “Everything changed when I found the right information, resources, and community to lean on.”
“I began to realize that, even in my new role as a care partner, I still had agency. And with that, I started to find joy, see beauty, and choose hope.”
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