Emma Heming Willis took to Instagram to share her love for her husband, former actor Bruce Willis. According to her post, they have been together for 16 years (they celebrated 14 years of marriage in March 2023). "16 years with this special man. My love and adoration for him only grows ," Emma wrote.
She shared two photos in which she has her arms around Bruce. In February, she shared that Bruce had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, also known as FTD. Initially, the family shared that Bruce had been diagnosed with aphasia in 2022. However, Bruce's condition worsened and he received a "more specific diagnosis."
Emma also wrote about her love for Bruce on their wedding anniversary. In the same post, she opened up about her experience as a caregiver. "Today marks 14 years of marriage to the greatest love of my life," she wrote in March.
She continued by saying that another person's "act of kindness" really brightened her day. She explained that she casually told a friend at a school event for their children that her wedding anniversary was the following day.
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Later that day, that same friend texted her saying that she "left 'a little something' for me at my door." When she went to check what was there, Emma realized that her friend left her flowers and a card that said "Happy Anniversary." Though it was a simple gesture, it really inspired Emma and made her think.
"It got me thinking about how hard these types of 'special occasions' can be on caregivers," she wrote in her post. "When usually our person would acknowledge the event, now their changing brains just can’t. And that is what it is."
According to Mayo Clinic, symptoms of frontotemporal dementia vary, but they can include changes in behavior and personality (such as apathy, decline in interpersonal skills, and inappropriate social behavior), and speech and language challenges.
"So my point is this," Emma continued in her post. "If you know someone that is looking after someone else, don’t ask what you can do, just do. This random act of kindness will honestly stay with me for a long time."
She credited her friend for "singlehandedly [making] this day special for us ."
Many people related to or empathized with her post.
"Being a caregiver is one of the hardest jobs there is," one person commented. "No one prepares you for it. You just have to go with the flow and do the best you can while playing this part of being strong."
Another person wrote: "Trust me, you will have happy days too and down right funny moments. I have never laughed or cried so hard. You have this!!❤️."
Many people praised Emma in response to her most recent post. Emma has used her Instagram page to raise awareness about FTD, and many complimented her for raising awareness and being a caregiver for Bruce.
"I have so much respect and admiration for you," one person responded. "You’ve kept the public informed while also protecting Bruce. You’ve educated us on his condition while dealing with the process of being caretaker. Sending hugs."
She has also used Instagram to reflect on positive memories of Bruce from over the years. In March, she shared that she was "so happy" that she and Bruce had decided to renew their wedding vows on their 10th anniversary "in the same place we said 'I do' back in 2009."
"Seize every opportunity to unite and celebrate with family and friends," she advised her followers. "Those are the moments and beautiful pockets of memories that you get to hold on to for a lifetime. And we get to keep those memories safe and alive for the ones that might not be able to ."
