Emma Heming Willis has opened up about the changing nature of holiday celebrations as her husband, Bruce Willis, continues to face the challenges posed by dementia. In an interview with People, published on **November 27, 2023**, Heming Willis, 47, described how the family has adapted their Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions following Bruce’s diagnosis.
“Bruce loved Christmas and we love celebrating it with him. It just looks different, so we’ve kind of adapted to that,” she stated during the End Well 2025 conference in Los Angeles. She emphasized the importance of creating new memories while still holding on to cherished traditions. “You have to learn and adapt and make new memories, bring in the same traditions that you had before,” she added.
Heming Willis highlighted a crucial aspect of their situation: “Life goes on. It just goes on. Dementia is hard, but there is still joy in it. I think it’s important that we don’t paint such a negative picture around dementia. We are still laughing. There is still joy. It just looks different.”
In March 2022, Bruce Willis was initially diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder that affects communication. By early **2023**, his family announced a progression to frontotemporal dementia, which impacts behavior, communication, and mobility. Rumer Willis, 37, Bruce’s daughter with ex-wife Demi Moore, recently provided a health update through her Instagram account, responding to a fan’s inquiry about her father.
“People always ask me this question and I think it’s kind of a hard one to answer because the truth is that anybody with FTD is not doing great,” Rumer explained. “But he’s doing OK in terms of somebody who’s dealing with frontotemporal dementia, you know what I mean?”
She expressed her gratitude for the time they can still share, noting, “I’m so happy and grateful that I still get to go and hug him. I’m so grateful that when I go over there, and I give him a hug, whether he recognizes me or not, that he can feel the love I’ve given him and I can feel it back from him.”
As Bruce’s health condition advanced, Heming Willis made the difficult decision to move him to a second home equipped with a round-the-clock care team. During an ABC special titled *Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey – A Diane Sawyer Special*, which aired in **August 2023**, she described the decision as one of the hardest she has faced. “But I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters,” she stated, emphasizing the need for an environment better suited to their needs.
In her memoir, *The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path*, released in **September 2023**, Heming Willis elaborated on how the move has positively impacted their family dynamic. She noted that accessing help, whether at home or in a specialized setting, allows caregivers to reconnect with their original roles in their loved ones’ lives.
“One benefit to getting help is the ability to get back to your original role in your person’s life,” she wrote. Reflecting on her own feelings, she acknowledged that it took time to overcome guilt but now feels she can “truly enjoy our fleeting time together.” She expressed her gratitude, stating that she is “forever grateful that I get to enjoy Bruce again as his wife and that our kids have their mom back.”
As the family navigates this journey, Emma Heming Willis continues to emphasize the importance of joy and adaptation, ensuring that the spirit of their celebrations remains intact, even as circumstances change.
