Bruce Willis' Wife Emma Heming Admits Their Family Initially Dismissed His Early Dementia Symptoms
Bruce Willis‘ wife Emma Heming is opening up about how some of his initial dementia symptoms were dismissed.
If you were unaware, the 69-year-old Die Hard actor is currently battling aphasia and frontotemporal dementia. His dementia diagnosis was made public in February 2023.
In a new interview, Emma, 46, explained that some of Bruce‘s initial symptoms were mistaken for the return of his childhood stutter.
Keep reading to find out more…“Bruce has always had a stutter, but he has been good at covering it up,” Emma told Town & Country, noting that because of his stutter, Bruce was determined to pursue acting.
“He went to college, and there was a theater teacher who said, ‘I’ve got something that’s going to help you,’” Emma shared. “From that class, Bruce realized that he could memorize a script and be able to say it without stuttering. That’s what propelled him into acting.”
Due to his medical history, Emma admitted that she initially dismissed the symptoms.
“As his language started changing, it [seemed like it] was just a part of a stutter, it was just Bruce,” Emma continued. “Never in a million years would I think it would be a form of dementia for someone so young.”
“For Bruce, it started in his temporal lobes and then has spread to the frontal part of his brain. It attacks and destroys a person’s ability to walk, think, make decisions,” Emma explained. “I say that FTD whispers, it doesn’t shout. It’s hard for me to say, ‘This is where Bruce ended, and this is where his disease started to take over.’ He was diagnosed two years ago, but a year prior, we had a loose diagnosis of aphasia, which is a symptom of a disease but is not the disease.”
Since Bruce‘s diagnosis, Emma has become a strong advocate for FTD families by sharing information about the disease and connecting with others going through the same situation.
“Today I’m much better than I was when we first received the FTD diagnosis,” Emma shared. “I’m not saying it’s any easier, but I’ve had to get used to what’s happening so that I can be grounded in what is, so that I can support our children. I’m trying to find that balance between the grief and the sadness that I feel, which can just crack open at any given moment, and finding joy.”
Bruce‘s ex-wife Demi Moore recently shared a health update on Bruce.