Bruce Willis' wife Emma Heming says 'everything changed for the better' after revealing his dementia diagnosis to the world: 'I felt this weight lift from my shoulders'

Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming, revealed that sharing his frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis with the world felt like removing a huge weight from her shoulders.

When asked how her life has changed since publicly disclosing the Die Hard legend's health battle in 2023, a year after revealing he was suffering from a disorder called aphasia, the actress, 45, said 'everything changed for the better once we were able to disclose his diagnosis.'

'I could breathe,' she said while attending the AFTD 2024 Education Conference on May 3. 'I could really exhale and sort of just feel this weight lift from my shoulders.'

The mother-of-two continued: 'I was able to seek the support that I so desperately needed for my husband, for our whole family.' 

On Tuesday, Heming shared footage of herself on stage at the conference in Houston, Texas, alongside a message on her goal to 'raise as much awareness of FTD as' she can.

'My goal? To one day see a treatment and cure,' she told her 942,000 Instagram followers. 

Additionally, she shared an image of herself, alongside three other attendees, with a caption about 'feeling grateful' to be 'surrounded by other FTD care partners, volunteers and advocates' with the same goal of supporting one another. 

The model has been married to Bruce since 2009 and shares daughters Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, nine with him. 

He shares daughters Rumer, 35, Scout, 32, and Tallulah, 30, with his ex-wife Demi Moore. 

In March, Heming marked her and Willis' 15th wedding anniversary with a heartfelt tribute on social media. 

'Today marks our 15th wedding anniversary! And today, I can make a choice. I can wallow in sorrow or I can celebrate it,' she wrote on Instagram. 'I call this the "remarkable reframe." What I know is there is so much to celebrate. Our union and connection is probably stronger than ever.'

She continued: 'We have two bright, fun and healthy daughters. We have a family unit that is built on mutual respect and admiration. And simply, I just love and adore the man I married. I’m so proud of what we have and continue to create. So, happy crystal anniversary to us!' 

Earlier this year, the retired actor's spouse sang his praises on Instagram by describing him as a 'true gentle-man' with a 'pure' and 'good' core. 

'Just like you, we simply adore him,' she posted to Instagram. 'What you might not know, but maybe you could imagine, that being wrapped in his arms is the safest place in this whole wide world. 

Additionally, she called him 'the gift that keeps giving.' 

In this spring, Heming pushed back on a report that stated the actor had 'no more joy' in his life amid his health battle with frontotemporal dementia and aphasia. 

Heming said in a clip on her Instagram page that she saw a headline that basically said 'there is no more joy' in her husband. 

'I can just tell you, that is far from the truth,' she fired back. 'I need society and whoever's writing these stupid headlines to stop scaring people.'

Heming added that the perception of the public and the media in regards to neurocognitive diseases needs to shift.

'Stop scaring people to think that once they get a diagnosis of some kind of neurocognitive disease that - "That's it, it's over, let's pack it up, nothing else to see here, we're done" - no, it's the complete opposite of that,' she said.

Heming said that while the health battle has brought 'a lot of ... grief and sadness' to her family, there is also love, connection, joy and happiness.

She wrapped up in saying, 'So stop with these stupid headlines ... there's nothing to see here, okay?'

In the caption of the post, Heming said that her 'experience is that two things can be true and exist at the same time.'

Heming provided contrasting examples including 'grief and deep love,' 'sadness and deep connection,' and 'trauma and resilience.'

She opened up about how she came to her thought process in the caption of the post.

'I had to get out of my own way to get here but once I arrived, life really started to come together with meaning and I had a true sense of purpose,' Heming said. 'There is so much beauty and soulfulness in this story.'

Heming said that she's come to understand that 'people that have not taken the time to properly educate themselves on any kind of neurocognitive disease' based on the 'headline after headline and blurbs of misinformation' she's seen on the topic.

In a follow-up post, Heming detailed that that the headlines were discouraging to the people providing care for people living with dementia.

'Care partners are already having a tough go in the support department,' Heming said. 'These headlines that paint this constant doom and gloom picture of dementia are harmful to them as they try to build their support unit around them. Or could sway a person who is wanting to help, the other way.

'I just ask you to consider reframing this negative narrative around dementia. That would be so kind and generous to the next care partner and their loved one.'

It's been a little over two years since Heming released a joint statement via Instagram with her two daughters and Willis's ex-wife Demi Moore, 61, and daughters Rumer Scout, Tallulah, announcing that Willis was stepping back from acting amid his aphasia diagnosis.

In the March 30, 2022 statement, they said that Willis 'has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities.

'As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him. This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support.'

They continued: 'We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him. As Bruce always says, "Live it up" and together we plan to do just that.'