Emma Heming Willis expressed her deep appreciation for the love she experiences on Instagram this Thursday.
This Thanksgiving, actor Bruce Willis was surrounded by his family. On the holiday, his wife Emma Heming Willis posted a heartfelt photo on Instagram, showing the couple celebrating with their children Mabel, aged 11, and Evelyn, aged 9. The photo also included Bruce’s daughters from his previous marriage – Rumer Willis, 35, Scout Willis, 32, and Tallulah Willis, 29 – as well as his ex-wife, Demi Moore, 61. Also present in the photo were Rumer’s boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas and Tallulah’s partner, Jake Miller.
In her post, Emma, 47, expressed her gratitude and well wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. The family’s Thanksgiving gathering came after Emma disclosed in September that understanding Bruce’s awareness of his frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis has become increasingly challenging. The family initially announced his aphasia diagnosis in March 2022, leading to his retirement from acting, and later revealed the progression to FTD.
Emma discussed the challenges of dementia both for the diagnosed individual and their family during her appearance on the Today show in September. She emphasized that this difficulty is universal, affecting Bruce and their family just as it does others. In an article for Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper earlier this month, Emma shared her struggles with guilt over having resources that others might not have for caring for Bruce, whom she married in 2009. She explained the benefits of having a specific diagnosis, such as connecting with a community that understands and offers support without the need for lengthy explanations.
Frontotemporal dementia affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, leading to atrophy in these areas. This can result in speech difficulties, emotional issues, personality changes, and other symptoms like loss of motor skills, including problems with walking, swallowing, or muscle spasms.
Earlier in the year, Emma celebrated her 45th birthday, sharing photos on Instagram of her and Bruce snuggled together. She described his love as the “warmest, coziest blanket,” which once enveloped in, one would never want to leave. Additionally, Emma posted a video on Instagram Sunday, where she was seen wearing a birthday hat and blowing out candles on a cake, joking about the number of candles being enough to potentially endanger their house but reflecting on the beauty of the day.