Bruce Willis’ Wife Emma Says She Refused to Keep His Dementia a ‘Dark Family Secret,’ Talks ‘Shame’

Bruce Willis‘ wife Emma Heming is not afraid to discuss his illness.

In a Sunday, June 14, interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, the 47-year-old mom of two — who shares Mabel, 14, and Evelyn, 12, with the legendary actor, 71 — explained she didn’t want to hide the Die Hard star’s frontotemporal dementia diagnosis from the world.

“I think that our family knew that by showing what we were going through with Bruce and this disease, we would see a change in how people look at dementia, how people talk about it,” Emma told the outlet. “Moving away from the shame and the stigma that surrounds it, I wanted our two young children to not have to think that they have to talk about their dad’s disease in a hushed home like this was some dark family secret.”

“Bruce is so beloved and he has such a global reach. And I knew that this announcement could hopefully change what people perceive dementia to be,” she added. “So I was really happy that we were able to get the support that our family needed. I am happy that we were able to share and make this conversation normalized.”

Even with the trials and tribulations of the Pulp Fiction actor’s dementia, the model is trying to see the positive side, telling El País, “It’s allowed me to slow down in certain respects to really be able to appreciate the people and the love and the support that we have within our lives, so that we can continue to provide for Bruce and my family.”

As Examiner previously reported, in 2023, Bruce was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, and Emma has since made it her mission to help caregivers like herself and people affected by dementia.

In March, Emma shared in an Instagram post that she and Bruce started The Emma & Bruce Willis Fund for Dementia Research and Caregiver Support, explaining it’s “our way of helping move things forward by raising FTD awareness, supporting promising research, and standing beside the caregivers who carry so much.”