Bruce Willis Is Living in a Separate Home Away From Family as Part of His Dementia Care
ABC special, Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey.
Heming Willis said moving her husband into his own place was “one of the hardest decisions” she’s had to make as a caregiver. But, she added, she felt it was necessary to give Willis a home that was safe, quiet, and easy for him to get around.
“I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters,” she said. “You know, he would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.”
Another factor in moving Willis to a second home had to do with how his dementia had forced Heming Willis and the couple’s two daughters, who are 13 and 11, to overhaul their own lives. For instance, Heming Willis worried that loud noises and chaotic scenes could trigger agitation in her husband, leading her to cut down on playdates and sleepovers for their daughters.
“I didn’t know if parents would feel comfortable leaving their child at our home, so, again, not only was I isolated, I isolated our whole family,” Heming Willis said. “You know, the girls were isolated too, and that was by design; I was doing that. It was a hard time. It was a really hard time.”
Willis’ second home is close to where Heming Willis and their daughters still live, and all three still see Willis frequently, often for breakfast and dinner. “It is a house that is filled with love and warmth and care and laughter,” Heming Willis said.
Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia two years ago. Elsewhere in the interview, Heming Willis said the actor is still in “really great overall,” but acknowledged, “It’s just his brain that is failing him.”
She added, “The language is going, and you know, we’ve learned to adapt. And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different, a different way.”
