Bruce Willis's wife, Emma Heming Willis, says things have been tough for the two's young daughters amid the actor's battle with dementia.
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She said that their daughters began to notice Willis and his mental decline before doctors gave an official diagnosis.
"Finally getting to a diagnosis was key so that I could learn what frontotemporal dementia is and I could educate our children," Emma told Town & Country. It's been tough to try to educate the girls on Willis's battle with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia.
But Emma said that she never tried to shield her kids from the truth of the matter.
"I've never tried to sugarcoat anything for them. They've grown up with Bruce declining over the years. I'm not trying to shield them from it."
"What I learned from our therapist was that if children ask questions, they're ready to know the answer," she added.
Bruce Willis's Wife Speaks Out
However, she said that she hasn't shared with the girls that Willis's diagnosis is terminal. "If we could see that Bruce was struggling, I would address it with the kids so they could understand, but this disease is chronic, progressive and terminal. There is no cure," she told the outlet.
"They know that Daddy's not going to get better," she noted.
Willis has been battling dementia and aphasia since 2022. He has kept out of the lime light to focus on his own health during this time. His wife Emma has stood in his corner through his battles.
"There is no treatment, which is why I'm out there raising awareness, so that they can see that we have some agency in this," she vowed. "I'm not going to allow FTD to take our whole family down. Bruce wouldn't want that. They're going to see me fight for our family, have some hope, and help the next family out there."
Meanwhile, ex-wife Demi Moore has also been in Willis's corner through his battle.
"You know, I've said this before. The disease is what the disease is. And I think you have to be in real deep acceptance of what that is," Moore told a festival audience. "But for where he's at, he is stable."
"What I always encourage is to just meet them where they're at. When you're holding on to what was, I think it's a losing game," she added. "But when you show up to meet them where they're at, there is great beauty and sweetness."
