Emma Heming Willis wants people to know that her husband, Bruce Willis’s life, is still filled with “love” and “joy” despite his battle with frontotemporal dementia or FTD.
Ms. Willis on Sunday took to social media to push back against a “clickbaity headline” that claimed her husband no longer experiences joy.
“It’s Sunday morning, and I’m triggered,” Ms. Willis said in a video posted to her Instagram account. “Just scrolling minding my own business and saw a headline, and got click baited, that had to do with my own family.
The headline basically says, ‘There is no more joy in my husband now.’ I can just tell you that is far from the truth.”
Ms. Willis, 45, did not name the publication she was referring to in the video.
She went on to say that these types of “stupid headlines” are scary and not helpful to the families or patients who are diagnosed with dementia.
“Stop scaring people to think that once they get a diagnosis of some kind of neurocognitive disease that that’s it, it’s over. Let’s pack it up. Nothing else to see here. We’re done,” Ms. Willis continued. “No, it is the complete opposite of that.”
In February 2023, Mr. Willis, 68, was diagnosed with FTD. About a year earlier, the “Die Hard” actor had announced he was stepping away from filmmaking due to a more general diagnosis of aphasia, which affects communication.
“FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone,” the actor’s family wrote in a press release shared on The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration website following his diagnosis. “Today, there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead. As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research.”
FTD is a term used to describe a group of rare, progressive brain diseases that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Some people with frontotemporal dementia have changes in their personalities,” the website states. “They become socially inappropriate and may be impulsive or emotionally different. Others lose the ability to properly use language.”
During her candid video, Ms. Willis admitted there was grief and sadness after her husband’s diagnosis, adding that there is also “love,” “joy,” and “happiness.”
“There’s all of that, but you start a new chapter,” she said. “And that chapter is filled, let me just tell you what it is, it’s filled with love. It’s filled with connection. it’s filled with joy. It’s filled with happiness. That’s where we are.”
About 55 million people worldwide suffer from some form of dementia, according to estimates by the World Health Organization.
“That number is expected to reach approximately 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 2050,” reads the Dementia Epidemiology Fact Sheet 2022 published by The National Library of Medicine.
Wendy Williams Diagnosis
Last month, former talk show host Wendy Williams, 59, also revealed that she had been diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia and FTD. She was the host of “The Wendy Williams Show” from 2008 to 2021.
Ms. Williams’s diagnosis was announced just days before the premiere of her docuseries, “Where is Wendy Williams?” on Lifetime, which it describes as an “unfiltered look” at her life after her “iconic talk show.”
The documentary was filmed in the months after she was placed under temporary financial guardianship after her bank, Wells Fargo, reportedly claimed she was an “incapacitated person,” arguing she was a “victim of undue influence and financial exploitation.”
Her publicist, Shawn Zanotti, told People Magazine that the documentary was not portrayed the way she expected.
“I would never let Wendy put her name and brand on the line like that ever. She’s an icon. It’s not the story we signed up for, and I feel lied to,” Ms. Zanotti said, adding that she believes her client would be “mortified.”
Ms. Williams has been open about her struggles with addiction and health issues, including Grave’s disease. Grave’s is an autoimmune disorder that results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones (hyperthyroidism),” according to the Mayo Clinic.
Matt McGregor contributed to this report.
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