Emma Heming Willis, wife of Bruce Willis, says there is a common misconception about the actor’s illness, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and aphasia in 2023.
In conversation on the podcast The Bossticks Heming Willis explained that the disease can manifest itself in different ways. For Willis, the disease mainly affects speech and expression, but not memory.
“People often ask if he remembers who I am. He does. He doesn’t have Alzheimer’s, he has FTD,” she said, adding that memory loss is not automatically part of dementia.
Heming Willis said her husband knew her loved ones, including her five daughters. She emphasized that FTD is not the same as Alzheimer’s disease, although Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia.
Four years since the first diagnosis
The Willis family announced in March 2022 that the actor plans to take a break from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia. In February of the following year, it was reported that he had frontal dementia.
Willis, 71, has daughters Mabel, 14, and Evelyn, 12, with Heming Willis. He also has Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 32, with ex-wife Demi Moore.
