Bruce Willis family finds holiday joy amid dementia journey

Emma Heming Willis opened up about the holiday season with husband Bruce Willis who is battling with dementia.

The 47-year-old reflected on how her family is navigating traditions after Bruce’s diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

Emma shared in an interview at the End Well 2025 conference in Los Angeles, the holiday season with Bruce is ‘joyous’ and ‘different’.

“Bruce loved Christmas and we love celebrating it with him. It just looks different, so we've kind of adapted to that,” the British-American model admitted.

Emma has become a vocal advocate for dementia awareness.

She authored the book The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path to share here caregiving journey.

At the End Well conference, Emma joined the 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 that you had before,” she emphasized in the interview.

“Life goes on. It just goes on. Dementia is hard, but there is still joy in it. I think it's important that we don't paint such a negative picture around dementia. We are still laughing. There is still joy. It just looks different.”

Emma reveals that their family life “is very simple — it always actually has been. I think that just being able to be present with him, that is the joy. Me being able to be his wife with him. Those are the moments.”

The 70-year-old was previously diagnosed with aphasia in 2022, followed by FTD in 2023.

His family announced retirement from acting soon after.