Emma Heming Willis pens essay on how holidays with Bruce Willis 'are different now'
Emma Heming Willis is reflecting on the holiday season and caring for her husband, Bruce Willis.
Heming Willis, who married her actor husband in 2009, penned an emotional essay about how celebrating the holidays takes on a different shape and feeling these days, as her husband battles a diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.
"Moments that once brought uncomplicated joy may arrive tangled in a web of grief. I know this because I’m living it. Yet despite that, there can still be meaning," wrote Heming Willis of the holiday season in her blog post, which she shared the link to on Instagram Saturday.
The model and actress continued, "I’ve learned that the holidays don’t disappear when dementia enters your life. They change."
In her blog post, she went on to describe grief as a normal and acceptable feeling, especially during the holidays, a time for reflection.
"Grief doesn’t only belong to death. It belongs to change and the ambiguous loss caregivers know so well," she wrote.
"For me, the holidays carry memories of Bruce being at the center of it all. He loved this time of year- the energy, family time, the traditions," wrote Heming Willis.
She called Bruce Willis a "pancake-maker, the get-out-in-the-snow-with-the-kids guy, the steady presence."
She continued, "Dementia doesn’t erase those memories. But it does create space between then and now. And that space can ache."
Heming Willis shared that as a caregiver for her husband, the holidays can present challenges because of "the pressure, both external and internal, to make everything feel 'normal.'"
"When dementia is part of your family, 'normal' becomes a moving target," wrote Heming Willis.
She also reminded readers that joy can coexist with grief that some may feel during the holiday season.
"The joy doesn’t cancel out the sadness. The sadness doesn’t cancel out the joy. They coexist," she wrote.
Heming Willis included a list of reminders readers can consider during the holiday season, including "You’re not failing if things look different. You’re adapting" and "Grief is not a sign of ingratitude. It’s a sign of love."
At the blog post's conclusion, she added a note of hope, writing, "There’s no denying that the holidays are different now. But different doesn’t mean empty. It doesn’t mean broken. It doesn’t mean devoid of meaning. There is still connection. There is still love. There is still joy to be had."
Willis was diagnosed first with aphasia -- a condition where the brain's ability to understand or express language is impaired, according to the National Institutes of Health -- in 2022 before receiving a more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia in 2023, according to his family.
Frontotemporal dementia is a type of dementia that impacts one's personality and may cause behavioral changes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Heming Willis shares two daughters with Willis, Evelyn Penn Willis and Mabel Ray Willis. Willis is also the father of three older daughters, Rumer, Scout and Tallulah, whom he shares with ex-wife Demi Moore.
Heming Willis published a book focused on the caregiving roles in September of this year, titled "The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on The Caregiving Path."
