Emma Heming Willis, 47, is opening up about her personal life following her husband, 70-year-old actor Bruce Willis, being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
In February 2023, Bruce’s family revealed the Hollywood legend’s aphasia diagnosis from 2022 has progressed into FTD. There are currently no treatments for the disease.
Heming Willis was a recent guest on “The Oprah Winfrey Podcast,” where the Malta-born model discussed the struggles of dealing with her spouse’s brain deterioration.
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“Did you ever think about divorce?” Winfrey, 71, asked Heming Willis on the Sept. 2-dated episode of her podcast. The “Red 2” actress responded, “I 100 percent thought about divorce.”
Heming Willis added, “We were so connected, so enmeshed, and yet all of a sudden, things just started falling apart.” She also admitted being “annoyed” with Bruce at times.
“We just weren’t aligned, and I didn’t know why. And he wasn’t raising his hand about anything, and I did contemplate divorce,” the mother of two stated.
That confusion over her husband’s unexplained changing behavior lasted a “couple of years,” according to Emma, before she eventually sought help from medical professionals.
“I knew it was time that I needed to raise my hand and try and be the best advocate I could for my husband and speak to his doctor,” Heming Willis told Winfrey.
Emma and Bruce got married on March 21, 2009, in Turks and Caicos, followed by a civil ceremony in Beverly Hills the following week. The couple has two daughters — 13-year-old Mabel Ray Willis and 11-year-old Evelyn Penn Willis.
“Our children, Mabel and Evelyn, were eight and 10 when Bruce was diagnosed. So they were very young,” Heming Willis recalled.
She continued, “What I learned is that I told them about the disease, and then just gave them just bite-sized information that was right, that was age-appropriate for them.”
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In a new interview with People, Heming Willis further addressed raising her girls as their father’s battles with FTD, which causes the lead of the hit 1980s television show “Moonlighting” to become more impulsive and have challenges with communication.
Heming Willis decided to move her ailing partner into a separate, nearby home from his immediate family, which was said to be more beneficial to his needs. Online critics lashed out at her for separating the Primetime Emmy Award winner from his kids.
“We have two young children, and it was just important that they had a home that supported their needs and that Bruce could have a place that supported his needs,” Heming Willis explained to the outlet.
The author of the soon-to-be-released nonfiction book “The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path” resumed, “The kids can have play dates and sleepovers [again] and not have to walk around tiptoeing.”
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Internet users once again reacted to Heming Willis’ latest comments about her family’s present living arrangement in the wake of discovering that the “Sixth Sense” star is combating the most common form of dementia.
“Emma, [you’re] amazing! Bruce, or any loving spouse, would want that arrangement for [their] family. Sending love, prayers, and more!” one fan wrote in People’s comment section. A similar response read, “Bruce is so blessed to have someone like Emma in his life.”
Despite Heming Willis expressing love and concern for her husband in the waning days of his life, one naysayer posted, “That is why you stay with the first wife. This one wants to move on. Believe me.”
“The first wife moved on in that marriage with a younger guy (Ashton Kutcher). Remember?” another commenter fired back at Emma’s critic, referring to Bruce being married to actress Demi Moore for over a decade.
Willis wed Moore, 62, in 1987. They share three daughters: Rumer (born 1988), Scout (born 1991), and Tallulah (born 1994). After separating in 1998, Willis and Moore finalized their divorce in 2000. Demi was later married to “Punk’d” host Ashton Kutcher from 2005 to 2013.
Moore made a surprise appearance on the latest installment of “The Oprah Winfrey Podcast” featuring Heming Willis. The “A Few Good Men” cast member commended her ex-husband’s current wife for being a good caregiver.
“I have so much compassion for Emma in this, being a young woman. There’s no way that anybody could have anticipated where this was going to go. And I really think she’s done a masterful job. She has been so dedicated to forging the right path,” Moore said.
‘Started Falling Apart’: Emma Heming Willis Admits She Once Thought About Leaving Bruce Willis as Backlash Mounts Over Moving Him Out of the House