The actor's wife shares what it's like taking care of him.
Emma Heming is opening up about the difficulties of caring for her husband, Bruce Willis, amid his ongoing battle with dementia.
The 45-year-old model — who shares daughters Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, 9, with the actor — took to Instagram on Monday after asking fellow "care partners" to "look for something beautiful" in their otherwise "hard, stressful" days and send her photos.
"I know it looks like I’m out living my best life, [but] I have to make a conscious effort every single day to live the best life that I can. I do that for myself, I do that for our two children and [I do that for] Bruce, who would not want me to live any other way," she said in a selfie video taken in her car.
"So I don’t want it to be misconstrued that I’m good, 'cause I’m not. I’m not good," she said, adding that her thinking can often become "doom and gloom."
Emma shared that putting her "best foot forward" is a daily task that "does not come to [her] easily," but it’s one she feels is "really important" for "the sake of [herself] and [her] family."
"When we are not looking after ourselves, we cannot look after anyone that we love," she explained, noting that she is "just doing the best that [she] can always."
In her caption alongside the post, Emma admits she doesn’t "have this down to a fine-science" but is committed to trying and keeping positive "affirmation[s]" in the "forefront of [her] mind."
She then shared via her Instagram Story photos sent to her by fans, saying their "something beautiful" was "the best part of [her] day."
"Your pictures, words of support and love for me and my family were felt," she wrote. "Honestly, thank you, it helps."
Heming’s vulnerability comes amid Bruce's heartbreaking battle with frontotemporal dementia, a progressive neurological disorder that impacts both cognition and behavior. The 68-year-old Die Hard star was diagnosed with the disorder last year, and as a byproduct, aphasia, a brain-mediated inability to speak or to understand speech.
Emma has been working to bring awareness to frontotemporal dementia and has been candid about the ups and downs of being a full-time caretaker for her husband. In May, Emma announced she was launching a brain health brand.
For Father’s Day, his 34-year-old daughter, Rumer Willis, shared touching photos of her dad holding his first grandchild -- her newborn daughter, Louetta.
"Fathers to the old and new," Rumer captioned an Instagram carousel. "Seeing my father hold my daughter today was something I will treasure for the rest of my life. His sweetness and love for her was so pure and beautiful. Papa I’m so lucky to have you and so is Lou. Thank you for being the silliest, most loving, coolest Daddio a girl could ask for. Best Girl Dad in the game…."
Bruce is beaming in one shot, posing with his arm around his daughter as she holds baby Louetta while leaning into him. In another snap, Bruce sweetly holds the child to his chest.
In addition to Rumer, Bruce shares two other daughters with ex-wife Demi Moore: Scout, 32, and Tallulah, 29.
RELATED CONTENT:
