Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis penned a touching tribute to her husband to mark Father’s Day, two years after he was diagnosed with dementia.
On Instagram, Heming Willis shared an emotional Father’s Day message, dedicating the holiday “to all the dads living with disability or disease, showing up in the ways they can and to the children who show up for them.”
“What Bruce teaches our girls goes far beyond words. Resilience, unconditional love, and the quiet strength in simply being present,” she wrote, referring to their daughters Mabel and Evelyn. “This photo says so much. Love deepens. It adapts. It stays, even when everything else changes.”
Heming Willis opened up about the complicated feelings she experiences on these holidays, sharing that “these symbolic days stir up a lot” and that she was “profoundly sad.”
“I wish, with every cell in my body, that things could be different for him and lighter for our family. As they say in our FTD community, ‘It is what it is,’” she continued, referring to frontotemporal dementia, the brain disease that her husband was diagnosed with in 2023. “And while that might sound dismissive, to me, it’s not. It grounds me. It helps me return to the acceptance of what is and not fight this every step of the way like I used to.”
Heming Willis concluded the caption with a dedication to fathers, adding, “Today, let’s celebrate the bada– dads, those who are here, and those we carry with us 💙 Onward.”
Heming Willis also shared several sweet snaps of her husband and their children on her Instagram story, including a photo of Willis hugging their daughter, Evelyn.
Another photo she shared captured Willis and Mabel enjoying some time at the park as they both swung on the swings.
In the last photo, Willis posed with both Mabel and Evelyn at the museum. Heming Willis wrote a short caption on the post, adding, “I miss and mourn what was. Even those Ugg days. I want it all back.”
In March 2022, Willis’ family announced that he would be stepping away from acting after he was diagnosed with aphasia, which affected his cognitive abilities.
Less than a year later in February 2023, the “Die Hard” actor was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia — known as FTD — which affects behavior and communication.
Since his diagnosis, Willis’ family have shown their support to the actor, and shared updates about his health along the way, including his ex-wife Demi Moore.
Speaking to CNN in December 2024, Moore shared, “He’s in a very stable place at the moment.”
“I’ve shared this before, but I really mean this so sincerely — it’s so important for anybody who’s dealing with this to really meet them where they’re at,” she added.
Bruce Willis’ daughters are thankful for him this Thanksgiving. To celebrate the holiday this year, two of his older daughters shared touching photos of a bonding moment between them. Bruce smiled at Scout as she placed a gentle hand on his heart, while Tallulah lovingly touched his ear. In a second snap, they cuddled up closer, while Bruce showed off a desk name plate with the fitting words “Best Dad Ever.”
In June 2023, on his first Father’s Day since his FTD diagnosis, his family rallied around him to celebrate the actor as a dad.
Heming Willis reflected on what he was teaching his daughters, including “kindness, strength, compassion, patience, generosity,” while Moore said she was “forever grateful” to Willis “for giving me these three beautiful girls.”
His family also showered him with love on his 70th birthday on March 19, 2025.
His three oldest daughters Rumer, Scout and Tallulah Willis — who he shares with ex-wife Moore — all posted touching tributes about their dad on the day.
Scout called her dad “the Greatest of all time” in her post, adding, “The music I make, the magic I create, and the magnetic mischief I incite, that’s my father’s legacy alive in the world.”
Tallulah shared several posts honoring her dad on his big day, calling him her “favorite friend” in one post.
In another, she wrote that while she used to get embarrassed when people found out her last name, she was “pretty damn proud to be Tallulah Belle Bruce Willis.”
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