Emma Heming Willis talked about the holiday season with her husband Bruce Willis, who is battling dementia.
The 47-year-old reflected on how her family is navigating traditions following Bruce’s diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Emma shared in an interview at the End Well 2025 conference in Los Angeles that the holiday season with Bruce is “joyful” and “different.”
“Bruce loved Christmas and we love celebrating it with him. He just looks different, so we’ve adapted to that,” the British-American model admitted.
Emma has become a strong advocate for dementia awareness.
She was the author of the book. The unexpected journey: finding strength, hope and yourself on the path of care to share the caregiving journey here.
At the End Well conference, Emma joined actress Yvette Nicole Brown to discuss the challenges and resilience of families living with dementia.
“You have to learn, adapt and create new memories, incorporate the same traditions you had before,” he emphasized in the interview.
“Life goes on. It just goes on. Dementia is hard, but there’s still joy in it. I think it’s important that we don’t paint such a negative picture around dementia. We still laugh. There’s still joy. It just looks different.”
Emma reveals that her family life “is very simple; in fact, it always has been. I think just being able to be present with him is the joy. Being able to be his wife with him. Those are the moments.”
The 70-year-old was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022, followed by FTD in 2023.
His family announced his retirement from acting shortly after.
