Bruce Willis Health Update: Emma Heming Willis Reveals Early Personality Changes
Emma Heming Willis recalls early changes to Bruce Willis’ personality before his dementia diagnosis
Between social media posts and a guest essay in Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper, Emma Heming Willis has kept the public updated on her husband, Bruce Willis’ ongoing battle with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia and how their family is supporting the actor through it.
Most recently, Heming Willis sat down for an interview with Diane Sawyer, which aired on ABC News the evening of Tuesday, August 26, where she shared updates on Willis’ health and how she and her family are coping.
“Bruce is in really great health overall, you know,” Hemming Willis told Sawyer. “It’s just his brain that is failing him. The language is going, and, you know, we’ve learned to adapt. And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different, a different way.”
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The subtle personality changes Emma Heming Willis first noticed
Heming Willis saw noticeable changes to Willis’ personality even before he received a formal frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.
“For someone who is very talkative and very engaged, he was just a little more quiet,” Heming Willis told Sawyer. “When the family would get together, he would kind of just melt a little bit. It felt a little removed, very cold, not like Bruce, who was very warm and affectionate. To [go] the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary.”
Heming Willis recounted feelings of anxiety and confusion when she learned of Willis’ diagnosis.
“To leave there with nothing, just nothing, with a diagnosis I couldn’t pronounce, I didn’t understand what it was,” she told Sawyer. “I was so panicked, and I just remember hearing it and not hearing anything else. It was like I was free falling.”
When Sawyer asked if she believes Willis can still “recognize” her, Heming Willis said she does, through the physical displays of affection he shares with his family.
“I feel he does, right? Like, he, I know he does. You know, when we are with him … he lights up, right?” she told Sawyer. “He’s holding our hands. We’re kissing him. We’re hugging him. He is reciprocating. You know, he is into it.”
How Bruce Willis’ family communicates beyond words
The family has had to figure out ways to communicate with Bruce beyond language, as his ability to speak has shifted.
“The language is going, and, you know, we’ve learned to adapt,” Heming Willis told Sawyer. “And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different, a different way.”
Still, she told Sawyer there are still instances when his character shines through. “Not days, but we get moments,” Heming Willis said. “It’s his laugh, right? Like, he has such, like, a hardy laugh. And, you know, sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk and, you know, I just get, like, transported.”
For Heming Willis, the challenge lies in wanting more of those moments, but she still values the time she gets.
“And it’s just hard to see, because as quickly as those moments appear, then it goes,” Heming Willis told Sawyer. “It’s hard. But I’m grateful. I’m grateful that my husband is still very much here.”
In supporting Willis as a caregiver, Heming Willis told Sawyer she found herself struggling with depression, but she didn’t recognize until her stepdaughter Scout Willis expressed concern about her wellbeing and encouraged her to reach out for help.
“I’ll never forget when Scout said that to me. And I thought, ‘Wow. Okay. I am losing it. I need to really get myself together here,'” she said.
The decision Emma Heming Willis calls her hardest
Heming Willis shared that due to the advancement of Willis’ dementia she had to make “one of the hardest decisions” she’s faced: arranging for Willis to live full-time in a nearby “second home,” a choice she says he would want for their family.
“But I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters. You know, he would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs,” she explained.
As she and her family navigate Willis’ health, Heming Willis said she doesn’t expect him to know the fine details of who she is to him, or the timeline of their relationship, but she still values the sense of feeling “connected” to him.
“So that’s all I need, you know? I don’t need him to know that I am his wife, and we were married on this day, and this is what it — I don’t need any of that,” she said. “I just wanna feel that I have a connection with him. And I do.”
What is dementia?
Dementia is a large group of diseases that result in progressively worsening memory and cognition. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a rare type of progressive dementia that affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, explains Philip Blum, MD, Neurologist with Houston’s Memorial Hermann Health System. However, the rates of progression are much less predictable than other forms of dementia, he notes.
While there are types of dementia that progress rapidly over only a few short years and others that progress over decades, there are also instances where symptoms appear and then stabilize, seemingly never progressing, Dr. Blum adds.
Common risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease include age (risk increases over age 65), a family history of the disease, poor cardiovascular health and a head injury.
Bruce Willis’ additional frontotemporal dementia symptoms
In a Town & Country interview, Heming Willis said that her husband’s earliest symptom of dementia—undetected at the time—was a stutter. “For Bruce, it started with language,” she said. “He had a severe stutter as a child.”
She went on to explain that in college, a theater teacher showed Willis he could memorize a script and recite it without stuttering, which ultimately led to his acting pursuits.
“Bruce has always had a stutter, but he has been good at covering it up,” Heming Willis also shared. “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.”
Willis was also diagnosed with aphasia
In 2022, Willis’ family shared he had been diagnosed with aphasia, a disorder impairing expression, understanding of language, reading and writing. It’s caused by damage to specific parts of the brain. While aphasia typically occurs suddenly, often following a stroke or head injury, it can also be a result of a brain tumor or a progressive neurological disease. In February 2023, the Willis family followed up with a statement announcing the frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.
“Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces,” they wrote. “While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”
In an essay for Vogue later that year, Tallulah, Willis’ daughter with ex-wife Demi Moore, said that her dad’s FTD “chips away at his cognition and behavior day by day,” also noting that she recognized there was a potential problem some time ago.
“It started out with a kind of vague unresponsiveness, which the family chalked up to Hollywood hearing loss: ‘Speak up! Die Hard messed with Dad’s ears,’” she said. This symptom got worse over time.
Frontotemporal dementia symptoms to watch for
While there is no cure for frontotemporal dementia, experts say spotting the symptoms early are key to managing the condition. The most common symptoms of FTD are problems with speech and language and behavior changes, explains Dr. Blum. These are functions of the brain, and stem from damage especially to the frontal lobes. Heming Willis said Willis’ disease started in his temporal lobes before spreading to the frontal part of his brain.
In addition to language or psychic symptoms like paranoia or aggression, some less common presentations of frontotemporal dementia can be hoarding, impulsivity, inability to make decisions or choices or personality changes, Dr. Blum says. For example, someone who is generally sociable may become withdrawn.
“Most dementias have memory problems associated with them,” Dr. Blum notes. “People with FTD tend to display less confusion and disorientation, but more personality and language changes.”
Practicing acceptance with a frontotemporal dementia diagnosis
“Frontotemporal dementia care is centered on easing symptoms and helping the person maintain the best quality of life possible,” says Dr. Hafeez. “Unlike Alzheimer’s, there are no FDA-approved medications that directly slow or stop the progression of FTD. However, doctors may prescribe antidepressants or antipsychotic medications to help with mood changes, impulsivity or aggression.”
Severe health conditions that change the version of ourselves we know, or affect someone we love, can be hard to accept. But as Heming Willis has learned, learning how to cope is key.
“Acceptance of an FTD diagnosis shifts the focus from resistance to adaptation,” says Dr. Hafeez. “This disease doesn’t follow a linear path, and clinging to how things used to be only deepens the emotional toll, for both the person affected and their loved ones. Acceptance allows families to make necessary plans, seek out support and adjust their expectations with clarity rather than denial. It doesn’t mean giving up hope. It means facing what’s happening with open eyes so you can respond with compassion, flexibility and purpose.”
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