(WJW) – Actor Bruce Willis’ wife says the actor’s condition continues to worsen.
Emma Heming Willis said in an interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer. Good Morning America showed a preview of the interview Tuesday morning.
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“Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall, you know,” Heming Willis said. “It’s just his brain that is failing him.”
Willis, 70, was diagnosed in 2023 with frontotemporal dementia, or FTD, a progressive brain disorder that primarily affects personality, behavior, and language, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Heming Willis says the most visible symptom has been the loss of language.
“The language is going,” she said. “We’ve learned to adapt. And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a … different way.”
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Heming Willis says she and her family still catch glimpses of the man they love.
“Not days, but we get moments,” she said. “It’s his laugh, right? Like, he has such a hearty laugh. And, you know, sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk… I just get, like, transported.”
CANNES, FRANCE – (ARCHIVE): A file photo dated May 16, 2012 shows Director and Actor Bruce Willis attends Moonrise Kingdom photocall at Cannes Film Festival in France. (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
ISTANBUL, TURKIYE – (ARCHIVE): A file photo dated October 26, 2009 shows Bruce Willis as he attends the ”Fashionable Istanbul by Avea” with his wife Emma Willis in Istanbul, Turkiye. (Photo by Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)
She added, “It’s hard. But I’m grateful. I’m grateful that my husband is still very much here.”
The couple shares two children, ages 11 and 13. Bruce Willis has 3 children from a previous marriage.
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Heming Willis is the author of a forthcoming book, “The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path”, which explores her family’s experience with caregiving and the emotional toll of the disease.
Willis retired from acting in 2022
