Why does Father’s Day make Emma Heming Willis “Profoundly sad” for Bruce Willis?

Wife of Bruce Willis shares why Father's Day make her sad.

Emma Heming Willis, who is the wife of Bruce Willis, dedicated a post to the retired actor on Father's Day. The couple share two daughters, Mabel Ray Willis and Evelyn Penn Willis, while he shares 3 daughters with his ex-wife Demi Moore: Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah.

The emotional post expresses Bruce as a father who is struggling with a debilitating disease. Emma also talked about "dads living with disability or disease, showing up in the ways they can and to the children who show up for them."

The caption stated:

"Happy Father’s Day to all the dads living with disability or disease, showing up in the ways they can and to the children who show up for them.
What Bruce teaches our girls goes far beyond words. Resilience, unconditional love, and the quiet strength in simply being present.
This photo says so much. Love deepens. It adapts. It stays, even when everything else changes."

Emma, who is the founder and Chief Impact Officer of Make Time Wellness, mentioned how profoundly sad she feels for the struggles Bruce goes through and still tries to do the most for his daughters.

"But to be fair to myself, these symbolic days stir up a lot.
 I’m profoundly sad today. I wish, with every cell in my body, that things could be different for him and lighter for our family. As they say in our FTD community, 'It is what it is.' And while that might sound dismissive, to me, it’s not. It grounds me. It helps me return to the acceptance of what is and not fight this every step of the way like I used to." She added, "Today, let’s celebrate the badass dads, those who are here, and those we carry with us 💙
Onward."

Bruce Willis diagnosis

In the spring of 2022, Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, aka FTD, which was made public in 2023. After his diagnosis, he decided to step away from acting due to a disorder called aphasia, which is when a person struggles with speaking, understanding, reading or writing.

After his diagnosis, Emma reveals she received no directions on going forward.

"We received a diagnosis and sent away with no hope, no guidance, no nothing, and I really had to figure out how to put resources into place," Emma, said. "And it was a lot of searching the Internet, trying to figure things out. I think that was my downfall. I thought that that's what I was supposed to do. What I've learned in all of this is that the most important person is the caregiver. We have to care for the caregiver, because when we care for ourselves, we can then show up for the person that we love."

Since his diagnosis, Bruce Willis is now stable and receives care and love from his daughters, wife and also has maintained a supportive relationship with Demi.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback