Bruce Willis turned 68 on Sunday (March 19). His wife Emma Heming-Willis (44) shared an emotional message. The actor has frontotemporal dementia (FTD). “I started the morning crying as you can see from my swollen eyes,” Heming said in a video posted to Instagram.
The 44-year-old went on to tell her followers that she thinks it’s important to “see all sides of it” when a family member has been diagnosed with dementia. She explained, “I always get these messages where people say to me, ‘Oh, you’re so strong. I don’t know how you do that.’ I don’t have a choice. I wish I had, but I’m also raising two kids.” Emma Heming and Bruce Willis have daughters Mabel, 10, and Evelyn, 8.
Heming added in her post that she needs to be strong. “But I have sad moments every day. Sadness every day and I really feel that way today on his birthday.” The film star’s wife has made it her mission to document her everyday life at the side of the ill Willis in order to draw attention to her husband’s illness and other families in this situation. In tears, she concluded her video message with the words: “As much as I’m doing it for myself, I’m doing it for you because I know how much you love my husband.”
Willis’ family, which includes ex-wife Demi Moore, 60, and three children Rumer, 34, Scout, 31, and Tallulah, 29, announced in February that the actor was diagnosed with FTD. In 2022 they had already made it public that the Hollywood star suffered from aphasia.
Demi Moore also posted a video on Instagram on Willis’ 68th birthday. She can be seen singing “Happy Birthday” with Emma Heming and the children. Bruce Willis himself appears delighted with the vocal performance in the clip, blowing out his birthday candles to enthusiastic cheers and applause from his family. “Happy Birthday BW! So glad we got to celebrate you today,” Moore captioned the video. “I love you and love our family. Thank you everyone for the love and warm wishes – we all feel them.”