Bruce Willis’s Wife Reveals Early Signs of Aphasia: “He Would Check Out” at Family Meals
Los Angeles, CA – Emma Heming Willis, wife of actor Bruce Willis, has shared poignant details about the early stages of his primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a variant of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), revealing how the disease subtly manifested before his official diagnosis. In excerpts published by News Corp adn Nine’s Honey, heming Willis describes noticing a change in her husband’s behavior during family gatherings, initially attributing it to his hearing loss or simply allowing the women in his life to dominate conversations.
Willis, a beloved actor known for iconic roles in over 100 films including the Die Hard franchise, The Sixth Sense, and Pulp Fiction, began to exhibit signs of withdrawal years before his retirement from acting in 2022. Heming Willis recounts how he would “check out” during dinner parties and family meals, passively observing while others spoke.
“When we first got together, this never posed a real problem,” she wrote. “Years later, however, I began to notice him sort of check out if we were at a dinner party or meal with the entire family… He would sit back and let everyone else do the talking without contributing very much.”
Initially, she believed he was being considerate, allowing his daughters and stepdaughters – often a lively group – to lead the conversation. “I thought he was just letting us have our girl time to ‘yack it up’, as he would say,” she explained. Tho, she now recognizes this behavior as an early symptom of the cognitive overload and difficulty processing conversations characteristic of PPA.
[Image of Bruce Willis with his family in 2018. Caption: pictured in 2018 are Rumer Willis,Bruce willis,Tallulah Belle Willis,Demi Moore,Marlene Willis (Willis’ mother) and Scout LaRue Willis. The family has maintained ties despite Willis and Moore divorcing 25 years ago. Credit: Getty Images For Comedy Central]
Heming willis also touched upon the strong bond her husband shared with his daughters, both from his marriage to Demi Moore and with her. He consistently prioritized spending time with them, describing the feeling as a “gravitational pull.”
The revelations come as Heming Willis continues to navigate the challenges of caring
