Bruce Willis’s wife says it’s ‘hard to know’ if he is aware of his dementia condition
Bruce Willis’s wife has opened up for the first time about her husband’s dementia, revealing it was unclear whether the actor was aware of his own condition.
Emma Heming Willis told the Today show on NBC it was “hard to know” if her husband knew of his aphasia – a condition affecting his cognitive abilities.
She said the actor’s dementia had been “hard on the family” since he was diagnosed more than a year ago.
Bruce Willis and wife Emma Heming Willis in 2019. Pic: AP
“What I’m learning is that dementia is hard,” she said. “It’s hard on the person diagnosed, it’s also hard on the family.
“That is no different for Bruce, or myself or our girls. And when they say that this is a family disease, it really is.”
The model, who has been married to the Die Hard star since 2009, said she was now a “care partner” and that the disease was spoken about as part of an “open and honest household”.
Bruce Willis retired from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia. Pic: AP
She said: “The most important thing was to be able, for us, to say what the disease was, explain what it is, because when you know what the disease is from a medical standpoint it sort of all makes sense.
“It was important that we let [our daughters] know what it is because I don’t want there to be any stigma or shame attached to their dad’s diagnosis or any form of dementia.”
The couple have two young daughters, Evelyn and Mabel, and Willis, 68, has three adult daughters with his first wife and actress, Demi Moore.
Emma Heming Willis opened up during World FTD (frontotemporal dementia) Awareness Week.
She said his diagnosis was a “blessing and a curse”, explaining that “just being in the know” of what was happening “made it a little bit easier… [but didn’t] make it any less painful”.
“Honestly, he is the gift that keeps on giving. Love. Patience. Resilience. So much and he’s teaching me and our whole family. For me to be out here doing this, this is not my comfort zone. This is the power of Bruce,” she said.
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The 45-year-old said it was important to ask for “help and support” and care partners should “look after themselves” so they can be the best care partner for the person they are caring for.
On her daughters’ experience, she added how the situation was “teaching them how to care and love” and that it was a “beautiful thing amongst the sadness”.
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April: Family release unseen footage of Bruce Willis
FTD is thought to account for less than one in 20 of all dementia cases.
It is named for the parts of the brain it affects – the frontal and temporal lobes and causes changes to personality, behaviour, language and movement.
As with other forms of dementia, the onset of the disease is slow to begin with but gradually gets worse.
There is currently no cure for FTD, but there are medicines, therapies and memory activities that can help control some of the symptoms.
The average survival time after symptoms start is between eight and 10 years.
Willis came to national attention alongside Cybill Shepherd in the 1980s TV hit Moonlighting.
His first big film role was as John McClane in the smash hit Die Hard in 1988. He went on to star in movies including Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys and The Sixth Sense.
Over four decades he starred in more than 100 films, which have amassed over $5bn (£4.17bn) at the box office worldwide.
A former FBI director has been interviewed by the US Secret Service over a social media post that Republicans say was a call for violence against President Donald Trump.
James Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 until he was fired in 2017 by Mr Trump during his first term in office, shared a photo of seashells appearing to form the numbers “86 47”.
James Comey later removed the Instagram post. File pic: AP
He captioned the Instagram post: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Some have interpreted the post as a threat, alleging that 86 47 means to violently remove Mr Trump from office, including by assassination.
Mr Comey later removed the post, saying he thought the numbers “were a political message” and that he was not aware that the numeric arrangement could be associated with violence.
“I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down,” Mr Comey said.
Mr Trump rejected the former FBI director’s explanation, telling Fox News: “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant… that meant assassination.”
Donald Trump Jr accused Mr Comey of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered”.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on X that Mr Comey had been interviewed as part of “an ongoing investigation” but gave no indication of whether he might face further action.
The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said Mr Comey had put out “what can clearly be interpreted as a hit on the sitting president of the United States”.
“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” Mr Budowich wrote on X.
Another White House official James Blair said the post was a “Clarion Call (…) to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East”.
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Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in May 2017 for botching an investigation into 2016 democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the White House said at the time.
While Mr Comey was the director of the FBI, the agency opened an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia to help get Mr Trump elected.
The Trump administration is considering a TV show whereby immigrants compete for the prize of US citizenship, the Department for Homeland Security has confirmed.
It would see contestants compete in tasks across different states and include trivia and “civic” challenges, according to the producer who pitched the idea.
Participants could battle it out to build a rocket at NASA headquarters, Rob Worsoff suggested.
Confirming the administration was considering the idea, Department for Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said: “We need to revive patriotism and civic duty in this country, and we’re happy to review out-of-the-box pitches. This pitch has not received approval or rejection by staff.”
It comes amid hardline immigration measures implemented by President Donald Trump on his return to office in January.
Since being back in the White House he has ordered “mass deportations” and used the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members to countries in Central and South America.
Rob Worsoff in 2013. Pic: AP
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Mr Worsoff, who is a Canadian-American citizen, said his pitch was inspired by his own naturalisation process.
He cautioned that those who “lost” the gameshow would not be punished or deported but said the details of how it would work would be down to TV networks and federal officials.
The producer said the US was in need of “a national conversation about what it means to be American”.
He said the show, if accepted by a network, would “get to know” contestants and “their stories and their journeys”, while “celebrating them as humans”.
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Behind the scenes of Trump trip
Meanwhile, the Department for Homeland Security has asked for 20,000 National Guard troops from various states to assist with its efforts rounding up illegal immigrants.
Currently, the federal Enforcement and Removals Operations agency only has around 7,700 staff – but the boost would help fulfil Mr Trump’s inauguration promises.
The Trump administration has already recruited 10,000 troops under state and federal orders to bolster the US-Mexico border.
Some have now been given the power to detain migrants within a newly militarised strip of land just adjacent to it.
At least 21 people have died after tornadoes hit two US states, according to local officials.
Fourteen people have died in Kentucky, its governor Andy Beshear said, while seven have died in Missouri.
The weather system also saw tornadoes tear through Wisconsin, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power.
In the city of St Louis, five people were confirmed dead and more than 5,000 homes were damaged, mayor Cara Spencer said on Saturday.
The storm system originally hit Scott County, 130 miles south of St Louis, on Friday, killing two people, Sheriff Derick Wheetley said.
The devastation that ensued saw roofs torn off buildings, blown-out windows, toppled trees, and power lines.
A house completely collapsed in St Louis, Missouri on Friday. Pic: Reuters
A map of the most impacted areas
St Louis mayor Cara Spencer said: “Our city is grieving tonight. The loss of life and the destruction is truly, truly horrendous.”
Dozens of people are believed to have been injured and in hospital, but the exact numbers in Missouri have not been confirmed.
Kentucky officials described the situation there as a “mass casualty event” after the weather system tore across Laurel County late on Friday.
The side of a house ripped off by storms in St Louis, Missouri. Pic: Reuters
Several people were taken to hospital, buildings were damaged, and a car flipped over on a busy highway, local officials reported.
Laurel County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Gilbert Acciardo said rescuers had “been on the ground all night looking for possible survivors”.
Kentucky governor Mr Beshear wrote on X that the number of dead in the state was likely to increase from 14 “as we receive more information”.
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People sit outside their destroyed homes in St Louis, Missouri late on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Further devastation expected in other states
The National Weather Service warned of further devastation hitting Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma on Saturday.
“Severe thunderstorms producing large to very large hail, damaging gusts, and a couple of tornadoes are expected across the southern Plains,” it said on its website.
The Midwest tornadoes were also expected to hit Illinois, eventually stretching to New Jersey and the Atlantic coast.
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