Bruce Willis’ Wife Emma Heming Speaks Out About Grief During His Dementia Battle: “There Can Still Be Warmth”
Emma Heming has shared an emotional look into how her family is spending the holidays as Bruce Willis continues to live with dementia.
The model and entrepreneur wrote about the experience in a personal essay posted on her website, where she spoke openly about grief, change, and learning to adjust to a new reality.
Heming, who is married to the Die Hard actor, shares two daughters with him, Mabel Ray, 13, and Evelyn, 11. In her essay titled The Holidays Look Different Now, she explained that the season no longer feels the way it once did. As Willis battles frontotemporal dementia and aphasia, even familiar traditions now take more effort and planning.
“The holidays have a way of holding up a mirror, reflecting who we’ve been, who we are, and what we imagined they would be,” Heming wrote. She said moments that once felt easy now often come with sadness. “Traditions that once felt somewhat effortless require planning, lots of planning. Moments that once brought uncomplicated joy may arrive tangled in a web of grief.”
Despite the pain, Heming said her family still finds comfort during the season. She shared that joy has not disappeared, even if it looks different now. “There can still be warmth. There can still be joy. I’ve learned that the holidays don’t disappear when dementia enters your life. They change.”
Heming also spoke about grief and how it shows up long before loss. She said it is normal to grieve even when a loved one is still alive. “Grief doesn’t only belong to death,” she wrote. “It belongs to change and the ambiguous loss caregivers know so well.” She added that grief comes from realizing life will not unfold the way it once did and from losing daily routines and conversations that once felt permanent.
She reflected on how much Willis loved the holidays and the role he played in the family during that time. “For me, the holidays carry memories of Bruce being at the center of it all,” she shared. “He loved this time of year, the energy, family time, the traditions.” Heming remembered him as the one who made pancakes, played outside with the kids, and quietly held everything together as the day went on.
She said those memories still matter, even though the present feels different. “Dementia doesn’t erase those memories. But it does create space between then and now. And that space can ache.” Heming explained that small things during the holidays can now trigger sadness and remind her of what has changed.
In her essay, Heming also addressed the pressure many families feel to keep everything feeling normal. She said she has learned that letting go of perfection is not giving up. “It’s adapting. It’s choosing compassion and reality over perfection.”
The essay, shared directly by Heming on her website, offers a raw and honest look at caregiving, love, and loss during the holidays. It also highlights the quiet strength required to move forward while holding onto the past.
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