It’s an emotional birthday for Bruce Willis and his loved ones, his wife, Emma Heming Willis, says in a new Instagram post as the That hard star turns 68 on March 19. Following his family’s announcement that the action star was retiring from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, it was revealed last month that Willis now has frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Along with three adult daughters – Rumer, Scout and Tallulah – he shares with ex-wife Demi Moore, the Pulp Fiction star shares 10-year-old Mabel and 8-year-old Evelyn with former model Emma, whom he married in 2009. Since her husband’s diagnosis was made public in February, Emma has used her platform to raise awareness of FTD, advocated for her husband and spoke openly about her grief – something she admitted she “really felt” on the occasion of his birthday .
“So today is my husband’s birthday,” the 45-year-old shared in a video message on her Instagram Stories on Sunday. “I started the morning crying, you can tell by my swollen eyes and runny nose.”
She went on to share how she was praised for putting on a brave face in the midst of her husband’s health problems, even though she is struggling inside.
“I just think it’s important that you see this from all sides,” said the founder of CocoBaba. “I always get this message, or people always tell me, ‘Oh, you’re so strong, I don’t know how you do it.’ I don’t have a choice I wish I was But I’m also raising two kids so sometimes in our lives we have to put on our big girl panties and get to it which is what I’m doing But I have moments every day of sadness, sadness every day, and I really feel it today on his birthday.”
Emma — who recently urged fans and the media to give her husband space when he’s out in public — also got emotional when she talked about putting together an Instagram reel to celebrate Willis’ birthday.
“I don’t know why I do that to myself because the videos are like a knife to my heart,” she admitted to fans. “But as much as I’m doing it for myself, I’m doing it for you because I know how much you love my husband — don’t cry, Emma — but it means so much to me, so thank you.”
