Emma Heming Willis always there was something special about Bruce Willis. 

The duo tied the knot in 2009 and had been living peacefully. However, when Bruce was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2022 at age 67, everything changed, per PEOPLE Magazine. 

Elaborating on how she felt at the very start of her husband’s diagnosis, Emma told the outlet, “Early on, life felt very dark, very one-note of just grief and sadness.” 

As a full-time caregiver, she felt unmoored, isolated and unprepared as she suddenly had to navigate a progressive illness, parent two young children, and protect Bruce’s privacy all at once.

Over time, though, she discovered a deeper bond between Willis and her. 

“I feel like our love story has only grown and developed more,” she shared. 

“It sounds woo-woo but it’s just on a more cellular level. I am so grateful that he is very much here, very much a part of our day-to-day,” she added.

“Bruce is very present in his body, and there is something so lovely and wonderful about that,” she noted and remarked, “He’s not thinking about what happened yesterday or what’s happening in the future. He is very grounded in today.”

Though FTD has compromised his speech, Emma declared that their connection remains unshakable. 

“Sometimes, love does not need words,” she reflected and concluded by saying, “I can just sit there with Bruce, and we look at each other and we laugh and smile — and that, to me, is more than anything.”