Bruce Willis' wife details devastating moment doctors confirmed dementia diagnosis

Emma Heming Willis has revealed the harrowing moment she first learned Bruce Willis was facing frontotemporal dementia.

The Die Hard star, 70, was officially diagnosed in 2023, but Emma says she will never forget the day doctors first explained the condition in November 2022.

"I'm sure the doctor was explaining what FTD is, buT I couldn't hear a single thing," she told People. "I had pins and needles going through my body. My ears were wafting. I'm sure he was feeding us information but all I heard was just, 'Check back in and here's a pamphlet'."

While the diagnosis clarified Bruce’s troubling behavior, Emma admitted the lack of guidance was crushing.

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"I was grateful to get to a diagnosis, but there is no cure for this disease, and being sent on our way with no support, no nothing was really traumatic. It's not just happening to us. This is how many people are receiving their diagnosis," she revealed.

She recalls feeling “very dark, very one-note of just grief and sadness,” often left to search online for answers. “I ended up searching the web to figure out what to do,” she said.

Now raising daughters Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, largely on her own, Emma says caregiving forced her to find purpose. “Early on I was too scared to say anything to anyone… I realized it would be beneficial to talk about it and raise awareness.”

Her journey inspired her new book The Unexpected Journey. “I wrote the book that I wish someone had handed me on the day we received the diagnosis,” she explained.

"Caregiving is hard, and there are many people doing it with little to no support… The only way I can get through this is to help someone else feel less alone."

Bruce now lives in a nearby one-story home with a full-time care team. “Bruce would want that for our daughters,” Emma explained. “He would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.”

Despite criticism for the move, Emma defended the decision, saying she has been judged “quickly and unfairly.”

During a joint ABC special with Diane Sawyer, she offered reassurance: “Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall, you know. It's just his brain that is failing him.

"We have a way of communicating with him that is just a different way, but I'm grateful. I'm grateful that my husband is still very much here.”

If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Dementia UK.

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