In an emotional interview with Diane Sawyer during an ABC special on Tuesday, Heming Willis said the 70-year-old “Die Hard” star remains physically strong but continues to lose his ability to communicate as frontotemporal dementia progresses.
“Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall,” she said. “It’s just his brain that is failing him. The language is going. We’ve learned to adapt and we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different way.”
The actor, known for roles in The Sixth Sense and Pulp Fiction, was first diagnosed with aphasia in 2022, a condition that impairs speech and language. His family later confirmed that doctors had identified frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a degenerative brain disorder that often affects behavior and communication.
Reflecting on the early signs of illness, Heming Willis recalled noticing subtle but troubling changes. “For someone who was very talkative and very engaged, he was just a little more quiet,” she said. “When the family would get together, he would just melt a little bit… not like Bruce who was very warm and affectionate. To go the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary.”
Although the diagnosis brought heartbreak, Heming Willis said it also provided clarity after months of uncertainty. “I was so panicked. I remember hearing it and not hearing anything else,” she recounted. “It was like I was freefalling.”
Despite the challenges, she said the family still cherishes fleeting moments when Willis’s personality breaks through. “It’s his laugh. He has such a hearty laugh. And sometimes you’ll get that twinkle in his eye or that spark. And I just get transported. But as quickly as those moments appear, they go.”
Willis, who retired from acting in 2022, has been surrounded by the support of his wife, their two daughters, as well as his ex-wife Demi Moore and their three children together.
Heming Willis, who married the actor in 2009, is preparing to release a book in September titled Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope and Yourself on the Caregiving Path. The memoir, she says, will reflect not just her family’s private battle but also the resilience required by caregivers facing similar circumstances.