What To Know
- Emma Heming Willis shares that holidays with Bruce Willis, who has frontotemporal dementia, remain joyous but have required adaptation and new traditions.
- She emphasizes the importance of finding joy and maintaining positivity despite the challenges of dementia.
- Emma expresses gratitude for their blended family, highlighting the support she receives from Bruce’s ex-wife Demi Moore and their children.
Emma Heming Willis still finds ways to enjoy the holiday season with husband Bruce Willis despite his battle with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Speaking to People at the End Well 2025 conference in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, November 20, Emma said that holidays are still “joyous,” adding, “It’s just different.”
“Bruce loved Christmas, and we love celebrating it with him,” she told the outlet. “It just looks different, so we’ve kind of adapted to that.”
The Die Hard star’s family first announced his aphasia diagnosis in 2022 before revealing the FTD diagnosis almost a year later. Since then, Emma has become an advocate for discussing the disease, offering help and guidance to others in the same situation.
In her interview with People, Emma admitted that holidays can be “so hard” for families caring for someone with dementia. As for what she does to make sure things are still special, she quipped, “I think it’s important to put Die Hard on because it’s a Christmas movie.”
“You have to learn and adapt and make new memories, bring in the same traditions that you had before,” she added on a more serious note. “Life goes on. It just goes on. Dementia is hard, but there is still joy in it. I think it’s important that we don’t paint such a negative picture around dementia. We are still laughing. There is still joy. It just looks different.”
Emma and Bruce tied the knot in 2009 and went on to welcome two children, daughters Mabel Ray Willis (13) and Evelyn Penn Willis (11). Bruce also shares three adult daughters with his ex-wife, Demi Moore: Rumer Willis (37), Scout Willis (34), and Tallulah Willis (31).
“I think that just being able to be present with [Bruce], that is the joy,” Emma continued. “Me being able to be his wife with him. Those are the moments.”
Back in September, Emma spoke about how much she appreciates her “blended family,” telling The Times, “I really turn to my stepdaughters and Demi. And they really are helping me navigate this.”
“I’m so lucky that we have this blended family and it’s really because Demi and Bruce set it up for us to be able to thrive in this way, to be able to support each other,” she added.