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Emma Heming Willis is opening up about one of the toughest calls she’s had to make while caring for husband Bruce Willis — and the therapy she says she needed to prepare for it.
The retired actor, 70, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2023, a disease that has stripped away much of his language and cognitive abilities.
In August, Emma revealed that the “Die Hard” star had moved into a “second home” nearby, where he receives round-the-clock care in a calmer environment.
“I knew by being honest and open about it that it would be met with a lot of judgment,” Emma, 47, said Thursday during an appearance at Endwell 2025, an annual summit focused on end-of-life care and death.
“I did a lot of therapy around that to kind of, like, get myself ready,” she told co-panelist Yvette Nicole Brown, who shared her own experience caring for her father with dementia.
Emma made it clear that the criticism she’s received hasn’t come from their family, including Bruce’s extended relatives, ex-wife Demi Moore or his three grown daughters.
“The judgment comes from the outside,” the actress, model, entrepreneur and author said.
Some social media users have questioned why the “Pulp Fiction” star isn’t living with his family full-time, while others suggested Emma is neglecting or distancing herself from her husband.
“If you are not on the front lines of this, in that person’s house day in, day out, 365 days a year, you don’t get a say and you don’t get a vote,” she clapped back.
When Brown asked how she feels about outside opinions on her family’s choices, Emma didn’t mince words: “F—k ‘em.”
“This is the best decision for our family. It was the safest one. And our family is now, in essence, thriving,” Emma said. “People don’t realize all the needs that go unmet behind closed doors.”
She said her daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, can have friends over again for playdates and sleepovers, while still seeing their father frequently.
“Their world has completely opened up, and so has my husband’s,” said Emma, who has been married to Bruce since 2009.
“It’s the right thing for our family, and it might not be right for everybody else’s, but that’s OK,” she continued. “We’re all on our own journey.”
Emma said the family went public with Bruce’s health struggles in part to confront the stigma surrounding FTD and to support other caregivers facing similar challenges, many of them alone.
FTD affects an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 Americans, representing an estimated 10% to 20% of all dementia cases in the US, according to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.
The condition has a relatively early onset, with most diagnoses occurring between ages 45 and 64.
Bruce was 67 when his family announced his FTD diagnosis. His condition had progressed from an earlier diagnosis of aphasia, which was made public in spring 2022.
At first, Emma said, she was navigating the ordeal on her own, afraid the news would leak if she brought in outside support.
“It was Bruce’s neurologist who really woke me up and told me about these statistics of caregivers dying before their loved ones,” she explained. “That was shocking to me.”
Research shows that caregiving can take a serious toll on health. One study found that caregivers’ lifespans can be shortened by up to eight years due to chronic stress and physical strain.
Another found that spousal caregivers face a 63% higher mortality rate compared with non-caregivers of the same age.
The neurologist told Emma she was “burning the candle at both ends,” caring for her husband solo while raising two young daughters, and urged her to seek help.
“I was really grateful that the neurologist gave me the permission I needed, because honest to God, if she hadn’t, I would still be doing this on my own,” she said.
Emma has previously discussed being diagnosed with depression following Bruce’s diagnosis. She has sought help from a therapist.
Asked how she takes care of herself today, she said it’s about carving out intentional time for things that make her happy.
“It could be a 10-minute phone call with a friend,” Emma said. “It could be getting out in my garden and killing the plants and then replanting them. I find joy in that,” she continued with a laugh.
“What are the things that are going to feed my soul? That is how I am looking after myself,” she said. “Do I do a great job with it? No, I don’t, but I really try.”