Emma Heming Willis has celebrated her 50th birthday by opening up about how far she’s come as a caregiver to her husband, Bruce Willis.
Following the Pulp Fiction star’s 2023 frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, entrepreneur Heming Willis has devoted her time to raising awareness of the condition while also caring for her husband, which she touched upon in a new Instagram post.
Heming Willis commemorated entering a new decade of her life Thursday, sharing a photo of the couple hugging and wearing party hats, along with a throwback video of her husband singing “Happy Birthday” after inhaling helium from a balloon. The pair’s daughters, Mabel, 14, and Evelyn, 12, could be heard laughing in the background.
“Today is my big 5-0. And I have to say, I’m ready for this new decade and all it has to offer,” the model, who married the actor in 2009, wrote in the Instagram caption. “My 40s were heavy, yet I’m proud of how far I’ve come as a wife, mom, care partner, and advocate. I’m also proud of the work we’re doing through the Emma & Bruce Willis Fund and what lies ahead. Together, we’re raising awareness of FTD, supporting caregivers, and advancing education and research.
“As I step into this next chapter, my birthday wish is for a future where families facing dementia have more support, resources, less stigma, and every reason to hold onto hope. If you’d like to celebrate this milestone with me, please consider supporting the Fund.”
In March, Heming Willis launched The Emma & Bruce Willis Fund, a charity dedicated to “confronting frontotemporal dementia by raising awareness, funding promising research, and supporting caregivers,” according to its website.
“Through this fund, my hope is to help deepen understanding of FTD and ensure families facing it feel seen, supported, and less alone,” she said while accepting the Susan Newhouse & Si Newhouse Award of Hope at The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration’s Hope Rising Benefit earlier this year.
“Bruce has always led with generosity and heart, and I know he would be proud to see this effort helping families facing this disease.”
She has continued to share updates about her husband’s health and current state, saying that he remembers key details about his life, including the identity of his family members around him.
“When people say, ‘Oh, you know, does he remember who you are?’ Well, he does because he doesn’t have Alzheimer’s; he has FTD,” she said on Monday’s episode of The Bossticks podcast. “I think that’s a very common misconception that, when you think of dementia, we think of memory loss.
“Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, but FTD is the most common form of dementia for people under the age of 60.”
In October, Heming Willis told NewsNation that her partner was “doing OK, with a really unkind disease.” She was then asked about her memoir, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, in which she wrote that it may be a blessing that The Sixth Sense star doesn’t know he has FTD.
“The person doesn’t realize that they are experiencing a decline in their health. So it’s not denial; this is just a part of the disease,” she said. “So, it’s a blessing and a curse. But I am grateful that Bruce never tapped into the idea that he had FTD.”