Bruce Willis’ wife shares heartbreaking post amid his dementia battle

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Emma Heming Willis has opened up about her struggles as her husband Bruce Willis continues to battle dementia.

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Emma gave followers a candid update in an Instagram video in which she confessed she’s “not good” as she reached out to other “care partners” for support.

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“I just think it’s so important for us to break up our thinking, which can feel, for me, very much like doom and gloom,” she said. “I know it looks like I’m out living my best life. I have to make a conscious effort every single day to live the best life that I can … I do that myself, I do that for my two children, and for Bruce, who would not want me to live any other way. So I don’t want it to be misconstrued that I’m good, because I’m not. I’m not good. But I have to put my best foot forward for the sake of myself and my family.”

Emma then encouraged people in a similar position to remember to pause during the day “and look for something beautiful.”

“When we are not looking after ourselves, we cannot look after anyone that we love. I’m just doing the best that I can, always,” she said. “Just take a moment out of your day and break it up for a second and look for something beautiful.”

In the comments, Emma reminded other caregivers that they need to prioritize their own mental health as well.

“When we are not looking after ourselves, we are no good to the people we love who we want to show up for and take care of,” she wrote. “I don’t have this down to a fine-science either, but I try. It’s an affirmation I use daily so it’s kept in the forefront of my mind. Your pictures, words of support and love for me and my family were felt.”

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Emma’s post generated nearly 29,000 likes and thousands of supportive comments.

“Any caregiver knows how brutal the journey is and that it’s usually the caregiver who falls apart before the ill partner,” one person wrote. “We need those walks, hikes, trips to the ocean, manicures … Whatever it may be and if we have kids, especially young ones, they need to see some normalcy too, they need a break from the illness too.”

Emma and Bruce share two daughters together – Mabel Ray, 11, and Evelyn Penn, 9. The Die Hard star is also father to three daughters – Rumer, 34, Scout, 32, and Tallulah, 29 – that he shares with ex-wife Demi Moore.

Bruce stepped away from acting in March 2022 after his family revealed he was suffering from aphasia — a neurological affliction that leaves a person unable to communicate.

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His condition has worsened and in February his family confirmed that the Hollywood icon is suffering from frontotemporal dementia.

“FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone,” Bruce’s loved ones wrote in a statement on the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration website.

“While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,” the statement released by Willis’ family continued. “Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead. As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.”

In an Instagram post this past March, Emma said that going forward she is making it her mission to “raise awareness” about the disease and advocate for “caregivers.”

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Emma has been candid with followers as she has struggled to deal with her husband’s diagnosis. In March, she fought back tears as Bruce celebrated his 68th birthday.

“So today is my husband’s birthday. I have started the morning by crying. As you can see by my swollen eyes and snotty nose, I just think it’s important you see all sides of this,” she said.

“I always get this message or people always tell me like, ‘Oh you’re so strong, I don’t know how you do it.’ I’m not given a choice. I wish I was. But I’m also raising two kids in this. So sometimes in our lives we have to put our big girl panties on and get to it. And that’s what I’m doing. But I do have times of sadness every day. Grief everyday. And I’m really feeling it today on his birthday.”

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Twitter: @markhdaniell

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