Emma Heming isn’t sugarcoating anything about Bruce Willis’ declining health for their young daughters.
The Die Hard star was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia early last year and has been living his life out of the spotlight with his family ever since. But getting that diagnosis was huge for his wife Emma, who’s been leading the charge in providing his care while also being a mother to their two young daughters. But she’s been keeping them in the loop every step of the way. During a discussion with Katie Couric for Town & Country published on Tuesday, the 46-year-old explained:
“This disease is misdiagnosed, it’s missed, it’s misunderstood, so finally getting to a diagnosis was key so that I could learn what frontotemporal dementia is and I could educate our children. I’ve never tried to sugarcoat anything for them. They’ve grown up with Bruce declining over the years. I’m not trying to shield them from it.”
How sad for the young girls to see their daddy like that. So Emma has clearly had to put a LOT of thought into how to talk to them about the situation. She’s even consulted with experts:
“What I learned from our therapist was that if children ask questions, they’re ready to know the answer. If we could see that Bruce was struggling, I would address it with the kids so they could understand, but this disease is chronic, progressive and terminal. There is no cure.”
Which means, of course, Bruce isn’t coming back. That part is something Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10, need to know, even if Emma isn’t ready to talk about it:
“Obviously, I don’t like to speak about the terminal side of this with them, nor have they asked. They know that Daddy’s not going to get better.”
Ugh, what a heartbreaking thing that must be for the whole family to mull over.
She added:
“There is no treatment, which is why I’m out there raising awareness, so that they can see that we have some agency in this. I’m not going to allow FTD to take our whole family down. Bruce wouldn’t want that. They’re going to see me fight for our family, have some hope and help the next family out there.”
The Pulp Fiction star also shares daughters Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 30, with ex-wife Demi Moore, who has been present through his diagnosis.
What are your thoughts on Emma’s latest update? Let us know in the comments down below.
[Images via Emma Heming Willis & Tallulah Willis/Instagram]