Bruce Willis’s wife Emma says their connection is ‘stronger than ever’ in 15th-anniversary tribute

Bruce Willis and his wife, Emma Heming Willis, are celebrating their 15th year of marriage.

Heming took to Instagram on 21 March to share a sweet tribute to her husband, in honour of their 15th wedding anniversary. The post included a snap of Willis kissing his wife’s face, as she subtly smiled for the camera.

In the caption, she expressed how she had a “choice” for how she wants to commemorate her marriage, following her husband’s frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis. “I can wallow in sorrow or I can celebrate it. I call this the ‘remarkable reframe’. What I know is there is so much to celebrate,” she wrote. “Our union and connection is probably stronger than ever.”

She went on to describe how grateful she is for her and Willis’s family, which includes Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, nine. The couple has also formed a blended family with the actor’s ex, Demi Moore, and their three daughters, Rumer 35, Scout, 32, and Tallulah, 30.

“We have two bright, fun and healthy daughters. We have a family unit that is built on mutual respect and admiration,” the 45-year-old model continued. “And simply, I just love and adore the man I married.”

Heming concluded the sweet message by once again celebrating the milestone in her marriage, writing: “I’m so proud of what we have and continue to create. So, happy crystal anniversary to us…#remarkablereframe #crystalanniversary.”

In honour of her anniversary, she also took to her Instagram Story to share a black and white photo of her wedding ring. The snap showcased a tattoo she had on her finger of her anniversary date, which was “321”.

The tribute to the Die Hard star also comes days after he celebrated his 69th birthday. To mark the occasion, Heming shared a post on Instagram of Willis holding one of their children as a baby. After expressing how much Willis’s family adores him, Heming went on to praise the sweet person that her husband is.

“What you might not know, but maybe you could imagine, that being wrapped in his arms is the safest place in this whole wide world,” she wrote in the caption. “He’s a true gentle-man. With so much love to give and share. That’s what I get to see, his true core. I can tell you, it’s so pure and ever so good. Happy Birthday my love. You are the gift that keeps giving.”

In 2023, Willis’s family shared that his health had progressed and he’d been diagnosed with FTD. The new diagnosis also came one year after his family first announced he would be “stepping away” from acting since he had been diagnosed with aphasia, which was “impacting his cognitive abilities”.

“We now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia,” Willis’ family wrote in a statement with the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration in February 2023. “Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.

FTD is an umbrella term for a group of dementias that mainly affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which are responsible for such things as personality, behaviour, language and speech, according to Dementia UK.

Since his diagnosis, Heming has continued to give frequent updates about her husband’s health on social media. Earlier this month, she took to Instagram to hit back at reports that claimed that Willis was living “without joy” following his dementia diagnosis.

“The headline basically says there is no more joy in my husband. Now, I can just tell you, that is far from the truth,” she said in the Instagram video. “I need society – and whoever’s writing these stupid headlines – to stop scaring people. Stop scaring people to think that once they get a diagnosis of some kind of neurocognitive disease that ‘that’s it, it’s over. Let’s pack it up.”

She acknowledged that while there is “grief and sadness” in this “chapter” of her family’s life, this time is also filled with “love”, “connection”, “joy” and “happiness”.

“That’s where we are. So stop with these stupid headlines. These stupid clickbait-y things that freak people out. Stop doing that. There’s nothing to see here, ok?” Heming concluded.