Bruce Willis's Daughters Miss Him but Have Learned to Adapt, According to Emma Heming Willis

Bruce Willis's family continues to adjust to the realities of his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, with his wife and daughters finding new ways to support him. While the journey has been difficult, Emma Heming Willis says the experience has reshaped how her children connect with their father.

Bruce Willis's youngest daughters are adjusting to life with their father's dementia diagnosis, finding ways to connect with him while learning to navigate the challenges it brings.

The actor, now 70, was diagnosed in 2022 with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a progressive condition that affects behavior and communication. He shares two daughters, Mabel Ray, 13, and Evelyn Penn, 11, with his wife, Emma Heming Willis.

In a recent interview with The Times of London, Emma, 49, opened up about how her girls' bond with their dad has shifted since his diagnosis.

"You can see the tenderness of it," she said. "The girls don't need him to be this or do that. They have really adapted to his disease and they know how to move around him. It's beautiful, but it's hard for them. They miss him."

Though Willis requires a quieter environment these days, the girls still share small but meaningful interactions with him. After school, they climb into their father's lap or press their faces gently against his, finding comfort in simple, loving gestures.

To make family life more manageable, Emma made the difficult decision for her and the children to live in a separate house nearby. The arrangement, she explained, gives Mabel and Evelyn the freedom to be kids without overwhelming their dad, while also allowing her to step back into the role of wife rather than full-time caregiver.

"Amid the sadness and discomfort, it was the right move — for him, for our girls, for me," she told The Times. "Ultimately I could get back to being his wife. And that's such a gift."

Willis is also father to three older daughters — Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31 — from his previous marriage to actress Demi Moore.

Emma, who recently released her memoir "The Unexpected Journey," has spoken openly about the realities of caregiving. In an earlier interview with People, she noted that her husband's condition requires a "calm and serene" atmosphere, adding that the transition to two homes has given their daughters "their lives back."