How Bruce Willis' Brutal Dementia Battle Made Father's Day 'Profoundly Sad' For 'Die Hard' Star's Family
Bruce Willis' wife shared a sweet snap of the dementia-hit star with one of his young daughters while paying tribute to the actor on Father's Day.
June 16 2025, Published 2:09 p.m. ET
Bruce Willis' wife shared a poignant Father's Day message about the star's tragic dementia battle.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the Die Hard icon's condition made the annual celebration "profoundly sad" for Emma Heming Willis, who shares two young daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, with the action star.
Bruce is also a dad to three adult daughters Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 31, whom he shares with his ex-wife Demi Moore.
Emma's Poignant Tribute
Emma said 'Father's Day' is now a 'profoundly sad' occasion.
On Sunday, Emma posted a snap on Instagram paying tribute to her husband, 70, as well as other fathers "living with disability or disease."
She captioned a picture of Bruce cuddling with one of his younger daughters: "Happy Father's Day 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. This photo says so much. Love deepens. It adapts. It stays, even when everything else changes. But to be fair to myself, these symbolic days stir up a lot."
'Let's Celebrate The Bada-- Dads'
Emma and Bruce, who married in 2009, share two young daughters.
Emma shared the special day is emotional for her given her husband's diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia.
She added: "I'm profoundly sad today. 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.' 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."
Emma concluded her post with: "Today, let's celebrate the bada-- dads, those who are here, and those we carry with us. Onward."
'I Miss And Mourn What Was'
Emma admitted in her father's day coverage that 'I miss and mourn what was.'
She continued to share a few snaps of Bruce with their daughters on her Instagram Stories, including ones where he is embracing one of his daughters while she sat on his lap and another of him with his arms around both Mabel and Evelyn as they posed at a museum.
"I miss and mourn what was," Emma captioned the latter picture. "Even those Ugg days," she continued in a nod to Bruce's choice of footwear in the snap. "I want it all back."
Last month, In May revealed when Bruce was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2022, she was given almost no direction about what to do next.
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Emma recently told show she was not given any advice after Bruce was diagnosed with dementia.
She said: "We received a diagnosis and sent away with no hope, no guidance, no nothing, and I really had to figure out how to put resources into place. And it was a lot of searching the Internet, trying to figure things out."
The mother-of-two then set off to learn everything she could about her husband's condition and ultimately put everyone else's needs ahead of her own.
Emma continued: "I think that was my downfall. I thought that that's what I was supposed to do.
"What I've learned in all of this is that the most important person is the caregiver. We have to care for the caregiver, because when we care for ourselves, we can then show up for the person that we love."
