Bruce Willis‘ wife, Emma Heming Willis, said that their young daughters, Mabel and Evelyn, went through a major change before he moved out of their home amid his battle with dementia.
“The truth is, Mabel and Evelyn’s daily lives were being turned upside down,” Heming Willis, 49, wrote in her new book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, which was released on September 9. “For example, with FTD and other forms of dementia, some people become more sensitive to noise, which can cause distraction, confusion and agitation. So I had everyone tiptoeing around the house to keep it as peaceful and serene as possible. This meant playdates were obsolete and forget about sleepovers.”
Heming Willis went on to compare their original living situation to having “a muzzle” on Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, adding that the girls were starting to be isolated “from having their own lives.”
After noting that Willis, 70, used to have “loud and crazy and fun” with their children, she reflected on how things have changed after he was diagnosed with dementia.
“I realized I was creating an environment he never would have wanted, and this made me feel awful for all of us,” she wrote. “I know his values, what’s important to him, and that his five daughters always came first. Anyone who knows Bruce knows that his love for his girls was unwavering, and he cared deeply about their happiness and well-being.”
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Once Heming Willis noticed that “no one was thriving” in the home, she decided it was best to move Willis to move into a separate house with a care team so that the family could “find a better balance and fit.”
Willis’ family announced he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023. The condition is “an umbrella term for a group of brain diseases that mainly affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain,” according to The Mayo Clinic. “These areas of the brain are associated with personality, behavior and language.”
In addition to Mabel and Evelyn, Willis shares daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, with ex-wife Demi Moore.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 13, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
