That of Bruce Willis marry Emma Heming shared new details about the early days of Die hard star’s dementia diagnosis

Heming opened up in an interview with Town and country on Tuesday, October 29, revealing that the family initially overlooked some of the actor’s symptoms due to his childhood history of stuttering.

“Bruce always had a stutter, but he knew how to hide it,” Heming, 46, told the outlet.

Heming added that Willis’s stutter eventually led him to pursue an acting career after his college drama teacher made him realize that he could memorize a script and pronounce the words without stuttering.

Related: Bruce Willis’ wife says dementia diagnosis is a ‘blessing’ and a ‘curse’

Emma Heming Willis has shared a new update on her husband Bruce Willis’ battle with frontotemporal dementia. Heming Willis, 45, discussed the disease on the Monday, September 25, episode of Today in honor of World Frontotemporal Dementia Awareness Week, revealing that it’s “difficult to know” whether Willis, 68 years old, is aware of his dementia. “What I learn is (…)

“As his language started to change, it seemed like it was just part of a stutter, it was just Bruce,” Heming explained. “Never in a million years would I have thought this would be a form of dementia for someone so young.”

She continued: “For Bruce, it started in his temporal lobes and then spread to the front part of his brain. It attacks and destroys a person’s ability to walk, think and make decisions. I say FTD whispers, he doesn’t shout. It’s hard for me to say, “That’s where Bruce ended up, and that’s where his illness started to take over.” » He was diagnosed two years ago, but a year before that we had a problem aphasia diagnosiswhich is a symptom of a disease but is not the disease.

Willis’ family shared in 2022 that the Sixth sense the actor, 69 years old, had been diagnosed with aphasiaa disorder that affects the way a person is able to communicate.

According to the Mayo Clinic, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an “umbrella term for a group of brain diseases that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain” – areas “associated with personality, behavior, and language.”

Heming shares two children Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10 with Willis. The actor is also the father of Rumor36, Scout33, and Tallulah30 years old, with ex-wife Demi Moore.

In the interview, Heming also gave an update on how she handled her husband’s illness.

“Today I am doing much better than when we were first diagnosed with FTD,” Heming said. “I’m not saying it’s easier, but I’ve had to get used to what’s happening so I can ground myself in what is and be able to support our children. I’m trying to find that balance between the grief and sadness I feel, which can open up at any time, and finding joy.