Bruce Willis’ Wife Responds to Criticism Over Caregiving Role
By Movieguide® Contributor
Emma Hemming Willis recently shared her struggles caring for her husband, Bruce Willis, amid his fight with dementia and addressed recent criticism over her role as caregiver.
“I just wanted to come on and acknowledge the incredible amount of messages I have received in the past couple of days,” she said, noting that most of the messages were helpful and supportive. A few, however, had some “snarkiness embedded.”
“Those are people with an opinion versus the experience, and those two things are very different,” Willis added.
“I hope, I pray, that the people who have this opinion never understand what this experience looks like or feels like,” she continued.
After addressing her critics, Willis explained how she wishes to use her platform to raise awareness about dementia.
“So I’m going to keep my head down and continue to focus on this path that I’m on, which is to raise awareness around FTD [Frontotemporal Dementia], to talk about the importance of brain health – because prevention is our only glimmer of hope for a cure right now – and how to best support our caregivers,” she said.
Willis ended the video by encouraging other caregivers to share their experiences to provide hope and support for anyone else caring for a loved one with dementia.
Many of her fans offered their stories and encouragement.
“One thing I learned as a caregiver to both of my parents is that while you’re in the thick of it, it seems like it will never end. I would wonder how much longer I could take it. But what I learned is that it won’t last forever. As a matter of fact, I now wish it had lasted longer,” said one comment.
“@emmahemingwillis you are living in the moment, step by step, day by day, but I don’t think you realize how impactful you are to the caregiving community. From the perspective of caring for a beloved ‘celebrity,’ you have humanized the experience and bravely allowed other a window into your world,” another commenter said.
Other comments included suggestions to make the caring process easier, such as playing music and making them laugh. Another person suggested the book “Creating Moments of Joy” which shares solutions to common problems dementia patients face.
Bruce Willis was diagnosed with FTD in Feburary 2023. Since then, Emma has become his primary caregiver, Yahoo! Life reports.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Actor Bruce Willis, known for Hollywood classics such as DIE HARD and THE SIXTH SENSE, recently announced his retirement after his aphasia diagnosis.
Aphasia is a loss of the cognitive ability to understand or express speech.
Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, thanked fans for their outpouring of prayer and love for her husband’s 40 years in Hollywood.
“Your love, support, compassion, prayers really help,” Emma wrote. “I’m grateful. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
