Emma Heming never expected to become her husband’s caregiver.
Not at such a young age.
Bruce Willis’ dementia diagnosis has brought both sadness and clarity to his loved ones and fans.
The former actor himself, however, does not know — and never knew — about his cognitive decline.
‘He doesn’t know about it’
On the Wednesday, January 28 episode of Cameron Rogers’ Conversations with Cam podcast, Emma Heming touched upon her famous husband’s diagnosis.
Willis has frontotemporal dementia (FTP).
But according to Heming, he “never connected” the dots that he has any type of dementia.
She shared that he believes that his behavior is normal.
Heming explained that this isn’t denial. It’s his brain’s way of coping with his current reality. (Yes, that does sound very similar to denial)
“I think that’s the blessing and the curse of this,” Heming summarized.
“Bruce never tapped in,” she characterized.
Heming continued: “He never connected the dots that he has this disease.”
She expressed: “And I’m really happy about that, that he doesn’t know about it.”
There are competing suggestions for dealing with memory loss. Many now emphasize kindness — not forcing a loved one to realize that a loved one has been dead for years multiple times per year because they keep forgetting, for example.
‘It’s really hard to know when Bruce’s disease started and where he started to end’
Heming and Willis share 13-year-old Mabel and 11-year-old Evelyn.
She emphasized that this is dementia, not Alzheimer’s disease.
He knows who his loved ones are.
“You just learn how to adapt,” Heming explained, “and meet them where they are at.”
Before she could do that, however, Willis needed a diagnosis. As his wife, Heming had to go over his head to get that — and then do what was best for her husband.
