Emma Heming Willis said she has experienced moments of grief as her family navigates the progression of husband Bruce Willis' dementia, saying the family experiences the emotional toll most in everyday moments.
In an essay published on her website, Heming Willis, 49, reflected on how her family life has changed since the actor's diagnosis and how grief has become an ongoing presence rather than a singular event.
She wrote that family traditions once centered on her husband have shifted since the diagnosis, especially during the holidays.
"For me, the holidays carry memories of Bruce being at the center of it all," she wrote. "He loved this time of year — the energy, family time, the traditions.
"He was the pancake-maker, the get-out-in-the-snow-with-the-kids guy, the steady presence moving through the house as the day unfolded."
She described the comfort she once found in the predictability of those traditions.
"There was comfort in the routine of knowing exactly how the day would go," she wrote.
While she said dementia does not erase those memories, she acknowledged the emotional distance created by the disease.
"It does create space between then and now, and that space can ache," she added.
Heming Willis said grief often appears unexpectedly as she takes on responsibilities her husband once handled.
"[Grief] can arrive while pulling decorations out of storage, wrapping gifts … or in the middle of a room full of people, or in the quiet moment when everyone else has gone to bed," she wrote.
She also admitted to moments of frustration rooted in longing rather than anger.
"I find myself, harmlessly cursing Bruce's name while wrestling with the holiday lights or taking on tasks that used to be his," she wrote. "Not because I'm mad at him … but because I miss the way he once led the holiday charge."
Bruce Willis was first diagnosed with aphasia in 2022, a condition that affects language and communication. In February 2023, his family announced that his diagnosis had progressed into frontotemporal dementia, a progressive neurological disorder that impacts behavior, speech, and cognitive function. He is now 70.
In August, Heming Willis revealed that her husband had moved into a nearby separate home to receive 24-hour professional care while she remains actively involved as his caregiver.
Speaking to Diane Sawyer during an ABC News special, she described the decision as deeply difficult but necessary for the well-being of their family.
"It was one of the hardest decisions that I've had to make so far," she said.
The move allows their two daughters to continue living in a home suited to their needs, she continued.
"But I knew first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters, you know, he would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs," she said.
She initially resisted change, hoping to preserve familiar traditions as a way to cope with the diagnosis. Over time she has learned that adaptation does not diminish meaning.
"There's a misconception that if the holidays aren't what they once were, they must be hollow. But meaning doesn't require everything to stay the same. It requires connection," she wrote. "This holiday season, our family will still unwrap gifts and sit together at breakfast.
"But instead of Bruce making our favorite pancakes, I will."
She concluded by acknowledging that grief and joy now coexist in her family's life.
"We'll put on a holiday movie," she recalled. "There will be laughter and cuddles. And there will almost certainly be tears because we can grieve and make room for joy."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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