Emma Heming Willis has cleared up one of the most common misconceptions about the diagnosis of her husband, Bruce Willis, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023.
During an interview on the podcast "The Bossticks," Emma explained that this disease is not the same for all patients and that there are three different variants.
"The shape that Bruce has affects the language. There is another variant that affects behavior and another that affects movement," she said.
Emma also emphasized that, contrary to what many people think, Bruce's illness does not affect memory.
"When people ask if he still remembers his loved ones, the answer is yes. This is because he does not suffer from Alzheimer's, but from frontotemporal dementia," she explained.
According to her, many people automatically associate dementia with memory loss, but this is not always true.
"This is probably the most common misconception. When we hear the word dementia, we immediately think of memory loss," Emma said.
She confirmed that Bruce continues to recognize family and loved ones, including his five daughters.
"It's different from Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia, but frontotemporal dementia is the most common form in people under 60," she added.
Last month, during a television interview, Emma gave another update on the actor's condition.
"We are doing well. My husband is surrounded by the love and support of his family and we are doing the best we can under the circumstances," she said.
Since making Bruce's diagnosis public in 2023, Emma has become his primary caregiver and has become increasingly involved in brain health awareness.
“What I have learned is that it is essential to take care of ourselves. If we don’t take care of ourselves, how can we take care of the people we love? We need to prioritize our health and especially our brain health. There are concrete things we can do today to protect our brain health tomorrow,” she said.
