Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, is celebrating the pair’s 17th year of marriage amid the actor’s frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.
“I was made to love him,” Emma, 47, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, March 21, alongside a throwback photo of the happy couple on a beach. “17 years,” she added, with a ring and a white heart emoji.
The accompanying photo was snapped during the pair’s 2009 wedding in Turks and Caicos, showing Bruce, now 71, holding Emma in both arms as they smile at each other.
Emma and Bruce met in 2007, tying the knot two years later. The pair share two children together: daughter Mabel Ray, born in 2012, and daughter Evelyn Penn, born in 2014.
Bruce is also the proud dad to three other daughters — Rumer Willis, Scout Willis and Tallulah Willis — whom he shares with his ex-wife Demi Moore.
The Die Hard star was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022, after which he retired from acting. His initial diagnosis has since progressed to frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which the Mayo Clinic describes as an “umbrella term” for a number of brain diseases that typically affect the frontal and temporal lobes.
Bruce Willis and wife Emma Heming Willis Getty Images
Since his diagnosis, Emma has been candid about what life is like as both a wife, mother and caregiver.
“It was one of the hardest decisions that I’ve had to make so far,” Emma said in a 2025 interview with Diane Sawyer, revealing that she had decided to move Bruce to a second home and hire full-time care. “But I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters. You know, he would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.”
Emma later opened up about the “benefit to getting help” in her memoir The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path.
Emma Heming Willis and Bruce Willis’ relationship is growing even stronger despite his battle with dementia. “Today marks our 15th wedding anniversary! And today, I can make a choice,” Emma, 45, wrote via Instagram on Thursday, March 21 alongside a selfie of Bruce, 69, kissing his wife on the cheek. “I can wallow in sorrow […]
“One benefit to getting help, whether you bring it into your home or have your person move to a community-based setting, is the ability to get back to your original role in your person’s life,” she wrote. “The other day Bruce and I sat on the patio of our second home, watching the girls swim and giggle in the pool. As we held hands, Bruce hummed along to the Frank Sinatra song that was playing in the background. For a moment, it was a teeny bit of normalcy that we really needed.”
Emma shared that she takes their daughters to visit Willis regularly, where they enjoy meals together, play with their toys and simply spend time with their famous father.
