Despite Bruce Willis’ Limited Speech, Love Story with Wife Emma ‘Does Not Need Words’ (Exclusive)

Way before Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in November 2022, there were early signs something was amiss. Always a devoted and charismatic husband and fun-loving dad, Bruce, 70, was becoming uncharacteristically removed and experiencing language issues, including the return of a childhood stutter. 

What he and his wife Emma Heming Willis, 49, didn’t know at the time was that he was exhibiting tell-tale symptoms of primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a variant of FTD. “FTD can affect people in different ways and there are three different subtypes,” Emma tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story, of the under-diagnosed disease.

“There’s one that affects behavior, one that affects speech, and then another one that can affect movement. For Bruce, it was speech.”

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Although PPA has limited his speech capacity, Bruce hasn’t lost the ability to communicate in other ways, and Emma has come to appreciate their reimagined dynamic. “I feel like our love story has only grown and developed more,” says Emma, who is one of the nearly 12 million people in the U.S. caring for a loved one with dementia.

“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.”

While it’s been a “heartbreaking” journey, Emma’s grateful for the simple moments they still share. “It has meant so much to be able to meet him where he’s at, to enjoy this time with him,” says Emma, whose new book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, is an empowering roadmap for caregivers navigating neurodegenerative disease.

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

Sixteen years since they exchanged vows in an intimate Turks and Caicos wedding in 2009, Emma sees newfound beauty in their enduring bond and quiet connection. “Sometimes, love does not need words,” she says. “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.”

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The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path hits shelves on Sept. 9 and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.