Emma Heming Willis opened up about the holiday season with husband Bruce Willis, who is battling dementia.
The 47-year-old reflected on how her family navigates 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 ‘happy’ and ‘different’.
“Bruce loved Christmas and we love celebrating it with him. It just looks different so we’ve kind of adapted to it,” admitted the British-American model.
Emma has become a vocal advocate for dementia awareness.
She has authored the book The unexpected journey: Find strength, hope and yourself on the path of care to share here care journey.
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 and adapt and make new memories, bring in the same traditions you had before,” she 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 their family life “is very simple – actually it always has been. I think just being able to be present with him, that’s the joy. I’m able to be his wife with him. It’s those moments.”
The 70-year-old was previously diagnosed with aphasia in 2022, followed by FTD in 2023.
His family announced his retirement soon after.
