Bruce Willis “never connected the dots” that he had dementia.
The actor’s wife, Emma Hemming, made the confession during an intimate conversation with Cameron Rodgers on Wednesday’s “Conversations with Come” podcast.
When asked if he was aware that Willis had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTP), Hemming said he considered his behavior to be completely normal. But she pointed out that he wasn’t in denial. It’s a way to help his brain understand his new normal.
“I think that’s the blessing and curse of this disease. Bruce never intervened. He never connected the dots that he had this disease. And I’m really glad he doesn’t know that,” she confessed.
Hemming, who shares The Sixth Sense actors Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, clarified that she knows who the people around her are because she has dementia, not Alzheimer’s disease.
“You just learn how to adapt and learn how to respond to the situation that they’re in,” she said.
At the beginning of the conversation, Ms. Hemming talked about how she had had communication problems throughout their 18-year marriage and wondered if there was something more at stake.
Explaining that they had to examine Ms Willis’ head to get a diagnosis, the 47-year-old sadly confessed: “It’s really hard to know when Bruce’s illness started and where it started to end.
“So, I don’t have a clear answer to that, and I never will. And I know a lot of other couples who have gone through this, where you think your marriage is falling apart, you think about divorce, and then you finally get a diagnosis and everything starts to make sense.
She also explained that FTP is often “misdiagnosed” as bipolar disorder, depression, or even a midlife crisis, so it “takes a long time” to receive a diagnosis.
Hemming made similar comments when speaking to Diane Sawyer in August 2025.
After admitting she had doubts about the state of her marriage before Willis’ diagnosis, she revealed they were living in separate homes as she battled dementia.
She told Sawyer, “That’s what Bruce would want for our daughters. He would want them to live in a home that meets their needs, not his own.”
She said her daughters see the Pulp Fiction star, 70, “often” at his summer home not far from their home.
Willis is also father to Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Talulah, 31, with ex-wife Demi Moore, and lives with a full-time care team.
The actor’s health issues first came to light in 2022, when the Golden Globe winner retired from acting due to a diagnosis of aphasia.
The following year, Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Frontotemporal dementia is a progressive neurological disease characterized by language problems, behavioral changes, and problems with motor skills.
The Make Time Wellness co-founder began dating Willis in 2007 and they married two years later. They renewed their vows in 2019.
