Bruce Willis’s daughters have heaped praise on stepmum Emma Heming Willis for spreading awareness of dementia in the wake of the Hollywood star’s diagnosis.
The 45-year-old wife of the Die Hard actor appeared on the Today show as part of World Frontotemporal Dementia Awareness Week to discuss its devastating impact on her family.
Willis’s family publicly acknowledged that he had been exhibiting a loss of cognitive functioning earlier this year, and the model told the NBC show how it can impact those around it.
“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 this is a family disease, it really is,” she told host Hoda Kotb.
“It’s important for care partners to look after themselves so that they can be the best care partner for the person they’re caring for,” she continued.
Heming mentioned that her two daughters – Mabel and Evelyn – have learned to practice “love, patience and resilience” with their father.
“It’s teaching them so much and how to care and love, and it’s really a beautiful thing amongst the sadness,” she said.
While she was grateful to see a positive light come out of their otherwise disheartening situation, Heming’s stepdaughters – Scout, 29, and Tallulah, 32, whom Willis shares with his former wife, Demi Moore – were thankful for her poignant words and the necessary attention she’d drawn to the cause.
“So proud of my family @emmahemingwillis,” Tallulah posted to her Instagram story on Monday.
Scout proceeded to repost her sister’s social media, adding her words on top. “I truly could not be more proud of @emmahemingwillis for being willing to step out into the public eye, (even though it’s terrifying!!!) to share our family’s story in service of spreading awareness about FTD,” she wrote.
“Emma you are such a champion for this cause and you inspire me every single f***ing day with your bravery and deep deep loving. Your courage is moving mountains #ftd #ftdawareness,” added Scout.
AFTD encourages anyone in need of resources or with questions about diagnosis and support to contact their HelpLine or email them at 866-507-7222 and info@theaftd.org, respectively.
