Bruce Willis' wife still feels a 'connection' to actor amid dementia battle: 'He lights up'

Bruce Willis' wife Emma Heming Willis is providing a heartbreaking health update about the legendary actor.

During an interview for the ABC special "Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey," which aired on Tuesday, Aug. 26, Heming Willis discussed the 70-year-old "Die Hard" star's health.

"Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall, you know," Heming Willis, 47, told host Diane Sawyer. "It's just his brain that is failing him."

Heming Willis revealed that the main symptom of Willis' frontotemporal dementia is a loss of language.

"The language is going, and, you know, we've learned to adapt," Heming Willis said. "And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a ... different way."

In recent years, Heming Willis, an actress and model, has been at the forefront of advocating for family caregivers. Now, her family's story is featured in a new book, "The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path," out Sept. 9.

Despite their challenges, Heming Willis and her daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, are still able to see the "twinkle in (Willis') eye."

"Not days, but we get moments," Heming Willis told Sawyer. "It's his laugh, right? He has such a hearty laugh. And sometimes you'll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk, and just get transported."

"And it's just hard to see, because as quickly as those moments appear, then it goes. It's hard. But I'm grateful. I'm grateful that my husband is still very much here," she added. In a sneak peek of "The Unexpected Journey" that was released previously, the advocate was candid with Sawyer about her reaction to Willis being diagnosed with dementia.

"I was so panicked, and I just remember hearing it and just not hearing anything else," Heming Willis told Sawyer in a teaser clip released Aug. 13. Willis also has three adult daughters with his ex-wife, Oscar nominee Demi Moore: Rumer, 36; Scout, 34; and Tallulah, 31. The family announced his diagnosis in February 2023.

Does Bruce Willis still recognize wife Emma amid dementia battle?

Although Willis' condition has greatly impacted his cognitive abilities, Heming Willis told Sawyer that she believes the actor still recognizes her and their children.

"I feel he does, right? Like, I know he does," Heming Willis said. "When we are with him … he lights up, right? He's holding our hands. We're kissing him. We're hugging him. He is reciprocating. You know, he is into it."

She added, "That's all I need, you know? I don't need him to know that I am his wife, and we were married on this day — I don't need any of that. I just wanna feel that I have a connection with him. And I do."

Emma Heming Willis talks agony of placing Bruce Willis in new home

In her ABC News interview, Heming Willis said she and her family decided to place Willis in a new home with professional caregivers that would be safer for the actor amid his dementia battle.

It was "one of the hardest decisions," Heming Willis explained. "But I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters. You know, he would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs."

Although Heming Willis tries not to dwell on her early relationship with Willis because "it's hard to look back," she shared what she would like to tell her husband if they had a conversation today.

"Just how he's doing, (if) he's OK. If there's anything that we could do to support him better," said Heming Willis, getting choked up. "I would really love to know that. If he's scared. If he's ever worried. You know, I just would love to be able to have a conversation with him."

(This story has been updated to add new information.)

Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY