Bruce Willis has been moved to a separate home by his wife Emma Heming Willis as part of preparing their young daughters for the actor’s pending death from frontotemporal dementia.
Emma revealed the difficult decision in her new book “The Unexpected Journey,” released Tuesday, describing the harsh reality of caring for the 70-year-old actor while raising their young children Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11.
“Giving and allowing the girls some space from Bruce also helps prepare them for his death,” Emma wrote in the book. “I know how dark and jarring that sounds, but that is the harsh reality of the world I must navigate to continue to protect our girls the best way I can,” she continued.
Willis was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022, which progressed to frontotemporal dementia in February 2023. Emma noted that the average life expectancy for someone with FTD is seven to 13 years after symptom onset.
“This disease of FTD is horrendous, but it gives you a little grace to be able to plan and organize your affairs,” Emma wrote. “I think getting used to it being just the three of us in our home will lessen the shock for Mabel and Evelyn when the inevitable comes.”
“Until there is a cure, this disease will always win,” she added.
Emma explained her heartbreaking decision during an appearance on “Good Morning America” with Michael Strahan Tuesday.
“It was a hard decision for us, but it was the safest and best decision not just for Bruce but also for our two young girls,” Emma said. “And, you know, it’s really not up for a debate. I know that Bruce has the best care 100% of the time. His needs are met 100% of the time, as well as our two young daughters. So I’m not gonna take a vote on that.”
Emma called moving Bruce into fulltime care “one of the hardest decisions that I’ve had to make so far.”
“But I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters,” she told Sawyer. “I feel like caregivers are so judged, and it just goes to show that people sometimes just have an opinion versus really having the experience. And I’ll say that dementia plays out differently in every household.”
“If you’ve seen one case of dementia, it’s one case of dementia,” she said. “So you have to do what is right for your family and what is going to keep your loved one safe, as well as your young children.”
Emma said Willis’s neurologist delivered a stark warning about the dangers facing caregivers.
“It’s okay for me to raise my hand,” she said. “I didn’t realize that I really needed permission for someone to tell me that it’s okay to get help.”
Willis and Emma married in 2009. The “Die Hard” star also has three daughters with ex-wife Demi Moore: Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31. All of Willis’s children and Moore have remained involved in supporting the actor during his health battle.