Bruce Willis doesn’t know he has dementia, wife reveals
Bruce Willis‘ wife, Emma Heming Willis, has revealed that her husband is unaware of his dementia diagnosis.
The Hollywood icon received his diagnosis in 2023 and has since withdrawn from public life. Last year, Heming Willis confirmed he had been moved to a separate property where he receives round-the-clock care from professionals.
Now, Heming Willis has again courageously opened up once more about her husband’s health struggle, telling Cameron Oaks Rogers on the Conversations with Cam podcast (via People), “I think that’s like the blessing and the curse of this, is that he never connected the dots that he had this disease.”
Heming Willis then shared that she is “really happy that he doesn’t know about it.”
Willis, as is common with those suffering from dementia, also has anosognosia, which Heming Willis describes as “where your brain can’t identify what is happening to it” and those who have it believe “this is their normal”.
She elaborated, “People think this might be denial, like they don’t want to go to the doctor because they’re like, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine,’ actually, this is the anosognosia that comes into play. It’s not denial. It’s just that their brain is changing. This is a part of the disease.”
Heming Willis also stated that his family have “adapted along” with Willis, before sharing, “He has a way of connecting with me, our children that might not be the same as you would connect with your loved one, but it’s still very beautiful.”
Heming Willis has been incredibly open about the challenges and realities of caring for a spouse with dementia, releasing the book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, in 2025.
Last year, upon revealing that Willis had been moved to a different home in order for him to access 24/7 care, Heming Willis defended the decision after facing criticism on social media.
She told Good Morning America it “was the safest and best decision, not just for Bruce, but also for our two young girls”.
Additionally, in that same conversation, Heming Willis explained, “It’s really not up for a debate. Now I know that Bruce has the best care 100 per cent of the time. His needs are met 100 per cent of the time, as well as our two young daughters, so I’m not going to take a vote on that.”
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