Bruce Willis' wife, Emma, shares he's 'losing his language' in tearful update

Emma Heming Willis has shared a tearful update on husband Bruce Willis, saying his brain is “failing him” and that the “Die Hard” star’s “language is going” as he lives with frontotemporal dementia

Emma Heming Willis has shared a tearful update on husband Bruce Willis, saying his brain is “failing him” and that the “Die Hard” star’s “language is going” as he lives with frontotemporal dementia.

Heming Willis, 49, spoke with ABC News in an emotional interview with Diane Sawyer about what life is like with Bruce Willis, 70, more than three years after he stepped away from acting due to his medical condition.

“Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall, it’s just his brain that is failing him,” Heming Willis said in an excerpt released Tuesday from an upcoming ABC special. “It’s just his brain that is failing him.”

Bruce Willis and Emma Heming at the premiere of "Glass" in New York City on Jan. 15, 2019.John Nacion / STAR MAX / IPxThe family announced in February 2023 that Willis had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a neurodegenerative disease that affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. It’s more common in men than women and can affect how people speak, behave and interact with others, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

“The language is going, and we’ve learned to adapt,” Heming Willis said. “And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different way.”