on monday morning, emma appeared on the today show alongside susan dickinson, head of the association for frontotemporal degeneration (aftd), to promote world ftd week.
“dementia is hard,” emma said on today . “it’s hard on the person diagnosed, it’s also hard on the family. and that is no different for bruce, or myself, or our girls. when they say this is a family disease, it really is.”
exclusive: in honor of world frontotemporal dementia awareness week, bruce willis’ wife emma heming willis speaks to @hodakotb about the condition in her first interview since his diagnosis.
— today (@todayshow) september 25, 2023
“it was the blessing and the curse,” emma said of receiving bruce’s diagnosis. pic.twitter.com/vy5yhvjzif
bruce stepped away from acting in march 2022 after his family revealed he was suffering from aphasia — a neurological affliction that leaves a person unable to communicate.
according to the mayo clinic , frontotemporal dementia is an “umbrella term for a group of brain disorders that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. these areas of the brain are generally associated with personality, behaviour and language.”
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during her appearance on today , emma said that learning bruce’s diagnosis was both “the blessing and the curse.” the former model said that the family was grateful to “finally understand what is happening.” but she added “it doesn’t make it any less painful.”
but last month, emma gave followers a candid update in an instagram video in which she confessed she’s “not good” as she reached out to other “care partners” for support.
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