Emma Heming says Bruce Willis 'never connected the dots' on his dementia

Emma Heming told her 'Conversations with Cam' podcast Wednesday that Bruce Willis 'never tapped in' and does not know he has frontotemporal dementia, a diagnosis he received in 2023. Heming said Willis believes his behavior is normal — not out of denial, but because his brain is helping him understand a new normal.

She added that he still knows who the people around him are, noting this is frontotemporal dementia and not Alzheimer’s disease. Speaking about their relationship, Heming said years of communication issues during their 18-year partnership made her suspect something more, and that she had to go over Willis' head to secure a diagnosis.

'It’s really hard to know when Bruce’s disease started and where he started to end,' she said. Heming explained that frontotemporal dementia can take a long time to diagnose and is often misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder, depression or a midlife crisis. Willis retired from acting in 2022 after an aphasia diagnosis and was later diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023.

Heming has also said Willis moved to a separate home as his condition progressed; their daughters Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, see him at his second house 'a lot.' Willis also lives with a full-time care team and is the father of three older daughters with ex-wife Demi Moore.

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