Bruce Willis’ Wife Emma Says He’s Teaching Daughters Evelyn and Mabel ‘How to Care and Love’ amid Illness – TH

Bruce Willis’ Wife Emma Says He’s Teaching Daughters Evelyn and Mabel ‘How to Care and Love’ amid Illness

“Really, it’s a beautiful thing amongst the sadness,” Emma told Hoda Kotb on Monday

Emma Heming Willis with Bruce Willis and their two daughters. Photo:Emma Heming Willis/Instagram

Emma Heming Willis is opening up about how Bruce Willis’ medical condition impacts their family.

On Monday, the mom of two, 45, spoke on the Today show alongside Susan Dickinson, head of the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), to promote World FTD Week. During the conversation with Hoda Kotb, Heming Willis explained it was important for her to share her experience because “What I’m learning is that dementia is hard. It’s hard on the person diagnosed. It’s also hard on the family.”

“And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say that this is a family disease, it really is,” she noted.

When asked about how much their daughters — Evelyn Penn, 9, and  Mabel Ray, 11 — understand about the illness, Heming Willis said that, “the most important thing was to be able for us to say what the disease was, explain what it is — because when you know what the disease is from a medical standpoint, it sort of all makes sense.”

“I think it’s always been, we’re a very honest and open household,” she explains. “It was important that we let them know what it is because I don’t want there to be any stigma or shame attached to their dad’s diagnosis or any form of dementia.”

Emma Heming Willis Strikes a Pose with Daughter Mabel as They Enjoy ‘Date Night’ Mini Golf Outing

Despite the difficulties, Heming Willis celebrates her husband, 68, for being “the gift that keeps on giving” to his family.

When asked about what he was teaching their girls, the proud wife replied, “Love, patience, resilience — so much. And he’s teaching me and our whole… for me to be out here doing this, this is not my comfort zone. This is the power of Bruce.”

As for the kids, “I think my kids would be great no matter what. This is not what I would want for them. But really what I said, it’s teaching them so much. And how to care, and love, and really, it’s a beautiful thing amongst the sadness.”

Heming Willis also talked about how the family still manages to share joyful moments together as they navigate Bruce’s condition.

“There’s so many beautiful things happening in our lives. It’s just really important for me to look up from the grief and the sadness so that I can see what is happening around us,” she says. “Bruce would really want us to be in the joy of what is. He would really want that for me and our family.”

Heming Willis noted that her girls were watching the appearance: “I’ve got the whole family watching. They’re rooting me on. I’m here to, like I said, raise awareness but to also make them proud.”

In addition to their two daughters together, the actor is also dad to daughters Tallulah Willis, 29,  Scout Willis, 32, and Rumer Willis, 35, whom he shares with ex-wife Demi Moore, 60.