Emma Heming says Bruce Willis' dementia was initially 'misunderstood' due to return of teenage stutter
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Bruce Willis’ wife of 15 years, Emma Heming Willis is opening up about her role as a caregiver of her husband while revealing that the return of his stutter masked the diagnosis of his Frontotemporal Dementia in the initial days.
The 69-year-old Hollywood icon was initially diagnosed with aphasia - which Emma terms as “a symptom of a disease but is not the disease” - in 2022. Ten months later, in February 2023, the Willis family revealed that Bruce was diagnosed with FTD.
During a recent interview with Town & Country Magazine, Emma opened up about the initial days of Bruce’s diagnosis while pointing out how his childhood condition masked his slowly progressing dementia.
Emma Hemming Willis opens up about Bruce Willis’ stutter
During the interview, when Emma Hemming Willis was asked about “how the disease has manifested itself,” she referenced the ‘Pulp Fiction’ actor’s childhood stutter.
“For Bruce, it started with language,” shared Emma, before adding, “He had a severe stutter as a child.”
However, when he went to college, he was helped by a teacher who helped him overcome his speech impairments, which subsequently launched his successful acting career.
The mother-of-two continued, “He went to college, and there was a theater teacher who said, 'I’ve got something that’s going to help you.'”
“From that class, Bruce realized that he could memorize a script and be able to say it without stuttering,” added Emma before noting, “That’s what propelled him into acting. Bruce has always had a stutter, but he has been good at covering it up. As his language started changing, it [seemed like it] was just a part of a stutter, it was just Bruce.”
“Never in a million years would I think it would be a form of dementia for someone so young,” added the heartbroken wife of Bruce Willis.
Emma, who shares two young daughters Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10, with Bruce, shared in the interview that the diagnosis helped her to understand the disease so that she could educate her children about their father’s neurodegenerative disease.
The model and entrepreneur continued in her interview, “This disease is misdiagnosed, it’s missed, it’s misunderstood, so finally getting to a diagnosis was key so that I could learn what frontotemporal dementia is and I could educate our children.”
“I’ve never tried to sugarcoat anything for them,” stated Emma before adding, “They’ve grown up with Bruce declining over the years. I’m not trying to shield them from it.”
Nevertheless, she shared that despite the children being young, she learned that communication is key while trying to share Bruce’s health updates with her young childre.
“What I learned from our therapist was that if children ask questions, they’re ready to know the answer,” shared Emma, before elaborating, “If we could see that Bruce was struggling, I would address it with the kids so they could understand, but this disease is chronic, progressive, and terminal.”
“There is no cure. Obviously, I don’t like to speak about the terminal side of this with them, nor have they asked. They know that Daddy’s not going to get better,” stated the resilient mother.
However, an astute advocate for the awareness of FTD, Emma noted, “There is no treatment, which is why I’m out there raising awareness, so that they can see that we have some agency in this.”
“I’m not going to allow FTD to take our whole family down. Bruce wouldn’t want that. They’re going to see me fight for our family, have some hope, and help the next family out there,” added Emma.
Emma Heming thanks blended family for their support
While Bruce welcomed Mabel and Evelyn with Emma, he is also a father to three adult daughters - Rumer Willis, 36, Scout Willis, 33, and Tallulah Willis, 30 - with ex-wife Demi Moore.
Despite their separation, the ‘Armageddon’ actor and Moore have maintained a cordial relationship over the years. Moreover, their cordial relationship has also facilitated an organic blending of the two families, which Emma says she is thankful for.
The British-born model continued, “The family respects the way I’m looking after him; they really support me. If I need to vent, if I need to cry, if I need to rage—because all of that can happen and it’s okay to have those feelings—they are always there to listen.”
“I’m so thankful that we are this blended family,” added Emma before continuing, “They’re very supportive, very loving, and very helpful, and a lot of people don’t have that.”
