Emma Heming Willis shared a moving message with fans as she celebrated her 14th wedding anniversary with husband Bruce Willis following his crushing dementia diagnosis.
Posting a photo of a bouquet of flowers he received from a friend, Willis, 44, described waking up this morning with a “full heart” as he reflected on the power of random acts of kindness in caregivers.
‘Today marks 14 years of marriage with the greatest love of my life. I woke up with a full heart, but my mind kept flashing back to someone else’s act of kindness yesterday that I wanted to share as it inspired me so much,” she began in the caption.
‘While passing through a school event for our children, I mentioned to my friend that our anniversary was tomorrow. Cut to, I get a text from my friend later that day saying that she left “something little” for me at my door. It was this sweet bouquet of flowers (pictured) with a note that said Happy Anniversary, among other things.
‘It got me thinking about how difficult these kinds of ‘special occasions’ can be for carers. Where normally our person would recognize the event, now their shifting brains simply can’t. And that’s what it is.
‘I woke up with a full heart’: Emma Heming Willis shared a touching message with fans as she celebrated her 14th wedding anniversary with husband Bruce Willis following his crushing dementia diagnosis.
‘So my point is this. If you know someone who is caring for someone else, don’t ask what you can do, just do it. Honestly, this random act of kindness will stay with me for a long time.
‘I love you Julia. You just made this day special for us. #randomactsofkindness #gratitude #friendship.’
The wedding anniversary comes just two days after Bruce celebrated his 68th birthday, another milestone Emma struggled with.
Bruce turned 68 surrounded by his children; Rumer, 34, Scout, 31, and Tallulah, 29, his daughters with Demi Moore, as well as Mabel, 10, and Evelyn, eight, whom he shares with Emma.
While the day seemed filled with love and joy and featured the whole family celebrating together, Emma was also open and honest about the pain behind the joy.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday morning, she admitted to “starting the day in tears” as she struggled with her husband’s health battle and his devastating diagnosis.
In her video post, Emma said she felt particularly sad when she described how to make an Instagram Reel for Bruce, saying that watching his videos was “a knife to my heart.”
“So today is my husband’s birthday,” she began. ‘I started the morning crying. As you can tell by my puffy eyes and runny nose, I think it’s important that you see all sides of this.
Partnership: Emma has been married to Willis since 2009 and they share two daughters together
‘Don’t ask what you can do, just do it’: Willis reflected on the power of random acts of kindness on caregivers in his post
Emma went on to say, “I always get this message or people always say to me, ‘Oh, you’re so strong, I don’t know how you do it.'” They don’t give me a choice. I wish I was. But I’m also raising two kids on this.
“So sometimes in our lives we have to put on our big girl panties and get down to business. And that’s what I’m doing. But I have moments of sadness every day. Pain every day. And I’m really feeling it today on her birthday.
She fought back tears in a second video describing the montage she had been working on for Bruce.
‘So I worked on this reel that I’m posting for my husband’s birthday. I don’t know why I do that because videos are like a knife in my heart.
But as much as I do it for me, I do it for you. Because I know how much you love my husband and, don’t cry, Emma, but he means a lot to me, so thank you.
Happy Birthday! Bruce turned 68 surrounded by his children; Rumer, 34, Scout, 31, and Tallulah, 29—his daughters with Demi Moore—as well as Mabel, 10, and Evelyn, eight, whom he shares with Emma.
Less than a year ago, Bruce retired from acting due to aphasia, a brain disorder that affected his ability to understand language.
And in an update last month, the family explained that it had progressed and led to a diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) affects the lobes of the brain behind the forehead, which deal with behavior, problem solving, planning, and emotions.
While it was hard to take, they admitted it was a “relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”