Emma Heming Thought Of Divorcing Bruce Willis Before His Dementia Diagnosis: "My Marriage Was Crumbling"

Emma Heming Willis has opened up about the tough years leading up to her husband Bruce Willis's dementia diagnosis.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the author and caregiver advocate revealed that she even thought about walking away – at one point even considering divorce – before knowing what was really going on.

“I felt like my marriage was crumbling,” Emma, 49, said. She admitted that she worried that Bruce, 70, “had fallen out of love” or had simply become “someone else”.

The couple, who got married in March 2009 and share daughters Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, had enjoyed what Emma described as a “romantic, beautiful story” before things began to shift. She recalled wondering, “What is going on? This is not the person that I married. Something is just so off. And I just couldn't figure it out”.

Looking back now, she says there were signs, but they weren't obvious. Speaking with PEOPLE for a recent cover story, Emma explained, “FTD doesn't scream, it whispers. It's very grey to know where Bruce stopped and where his disease kicked in”.

She noticed small changes first. His stutter started to return. Conversations didn't flow the same way. “Conversations weren't really aligning anymore, and our relationship started to shift,” she said. “It was hard to put my finger on why and what was happening”.

The uncertainty took a toll on her. Emma admitted she questioned herself more than anything else. “I thought it was something I was doing in our marriage that was not working anymore,” she said. “It's like you're banging your head against a brick wall. You're just like, ‘Where is the miscommunication coming? What is happening within our relationship?'”

It wasn't until 2022 that the family finally got some answers. First came the aphasia diagnosis. Then, a few months later, doctors confirmed Bruce was living with frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The clarity, while heartbreaking, helped Emma understand what had been happening all along.

Today, she is focused on supporting Bruce and raising awareness about the disease. But she admits it is hard to revisit the years before the diagnosis. “It is so hard right now for me to tap into that time of our life,” she said of their early romance, before the health challenges began.

Also Read | As Bruce Willis's Dementia Worsens, Wife Emma Shares The "Hardest Decision" She Made For Her Husband