Emma Heming Willis is opening up about how her family has reshaped their holiday traditions as Bruce Willis continues to live with frontotemporal dementia. âItâs joyous. Itâs just different,â Emma, 47, told People at the End Well 2025 conference in Los Angeles on November 20.
âBruce loved Christmas, and we love celebrating it with him. It just looks different, so weâve kind of adapted to that.â
Bruceâs family first announced in March 2022 that the âDie Hardâ star had been diagnosed with aphasia and would be stepping away from acting.
The following year, his condition advanced to frontotemporal dementia.
Why the Holidays Carry New Meaning for the Willis Family
Emma admitted that the holiday season can be emotional for families caring for someone with dementia, but she also shared a playful nod to Bruceâs most famous Christmas tradition. She said she thinks âitâs important to put âDie Hardâ on because itâs a Christmas movie.â
âYou have to learn and adapt and make new memories, bring in the same traditions that you had before,â she said. âLife goes on. It just goes on.â
Emma stressed that dementia does not erase joy or connection. âI think itâs important that we donât paint such a negative picture around dementia,â she said. âWe are still laughing. There is still joy. It just looks different.â
Inside Bruce and Emmaâs Life at Home
Emma and Bruce married in 2009 after two years of dating and share two daughters, Mabel Ray and Evelyn Penn.
Bruce is also dad to Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah, whom he welcomed with Demi Moore.
Emma said their family life has stayed grounded, even as his health has changed.
She described their days as âvery simple â it always actually has been.â
âI think that just being able to be present with him, that is the joy,â she said. âMe being able to be his wife with him. Those are the moments.â
Rumer Willis Shares Her Own Update on Her Father
Earlier this month, Rumer Willis shared her own update on her beloved dad during an Instagram Q&A. âPeople always ask me this question,â she said, as reported by Page Six.
âAnd I think itâs kind of a hard one to answer, because the truth is that anybody with FTD is not doing great. But heâs doing OK in terms of somebody whoâs dealing with frontotemporal dementia, you know what I mean?â
Rumer added that every moment with her father still carries meaning. âIâm so grateful that when I go over there and give him a hug, whether he recognizes me or not, that he can feel the love Iâve given him and I can feel it back.â
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