Bruce Willis’ Family Forced To Make Heartbreaking Decision As Actor’s Health Wanes

The family of legendary actor Bruce Willis has been thrown into making gut-wrenching decisions about his end-of-life care as his health worsens.

Emma Heming, Willis’s second wife. revealed that the “Die Hard” actor is living in a second home as a result of deteriorating mental health, a symptom stemming from his diagnosis of frontotemporal degeneration, or FTD, a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by an inability to recognize faces and remember words and their meanings.

In his new home, Willis will be outfitted with round-the-clock care from a health team that responds to his every beck and call.

The revelation was made by Heming during a new ABC documentary on Willis and his struggle, titled “Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey,” and featuring Diane Sawyer.

Early clips show Heming telling Sawyer about the difficulty explaining to their daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, why their father must be sent to live in a new, unfamiliar home.

“I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters. He would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his,” she said.

Willis, 70, will be living in a single-story house that provides access to all his daily needs. Heming emphasized that his family will always be close by, going for morning and evening walks with him on a regular basis.

“It’s our second home. It’s filled with love, care, and laughter, and it’s been beautiful to see,” she said.

WATCH:

ABC News’ @DianeSawyer sat down with Emma Heming Willis in a heart wrenching interview about Bruce Willis’ health.

“Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey – A Diane Sawyer Special” is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+. pic.twitter.com/hAsJRQgsdU

— Nightline (@Nightline) August 27, 2025

Decades in Hollywood made Willis a box-office success with series like “Die Hard” and blockbusters including “The Sixth Sense” and “The Fifth Element.” Now, he faces his most dramatic role yet: that of a survivor battling against time itself.

He was first diagnosed in 2023 with aphasia, which blurs the brain’s ability to remember words and their meanings. Willis had struggled for several years to memorize the lines in his scripts, which forced him to take smaller and less prominent parts in movies before ultimately stepping away from the spotlight entirely.

FTD, which grows progressively worse, has no cure. Still, Heming said her husband of 16 years still carries a twinkle in his eyes when they’re together.

“We get moments when we see his personality shine through — his hearty laugh, his smirk, or that twinkle in his eye,” she said, the Tribune reported.

Although Willis has largely lost his ability to speak, she added that the family has worked to discover new ways to communicate with their father and husband.