Emma Hemming Willis has shared an update on Bruce Willis’ condition amidst his battle with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
In an interview with the US Today show, Emma recalled the first few signs she noticed before the actor’s diagnosis with the rare form of dementia.
“For someone who is very talkative and very engaged, he was just a little more quiet and when the family would get together he would kind of just melt a little bit,” she told show host Diane Sawyer.
Emma who married Bruce in 2009, added that the Hollywood star became more subdued and had personality changes prior to his diagnosis, including the reappearance of a childhood stutter.
“I felt a little removed. [He was] very cold, not like Bruce, who is very warm and affectionate. To go in the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary.”
Emma added that FTD was often misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder, a midlife crisis or depression, but a brain scan confirmed the actor’s diagnosis, and when she found out she was given a pamphlet and told nothing could be done.
While she immediately panicked, Bruce was unaware of what was going on.
When asked how the actor was doing today, she said he was “still very mobile” and in “great health overall”.
“It’s just his brain that is failing him,” she said.
“The language is going and we have learned to adapt and we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different way.”
The actress fought back tears when she was asked if there were still days when the old Bruce reappeared.
“Not days, but we get moments. It’s his laugh right? He has such a hearty laugh and sometimes you will see that twinkle in his eye or that smirk,” Heming Willis said as she clicked her fingers to show how fleeting it is.
“And you know… I just get transported.
“It’s just hard to see it because as quickly as those moments appear then it goes. And it’s hard.
“But I am grateful… that my husband is still very much here.”
The actor was first diagnosed with aphasia in March 2022, which affects communication and language, a year later his family revealed that his condition had progressed to FTD.
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