In "The Unexpected Journey: Finding Hope and Purpose on the Caregiving Path," the author delves into the harrowing challenges she and the "Die Hard" star endured prior to his frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis in November 2022. At one particularly trying juncture, she even contemplated filing for divorce from her husband, whom she had married in 2009. "I felt like my marriage was crumbling," Emma—who shares daughters Mabel Willis, 13, and Evelyn Willis, 11, with Bruce—reminisced to Vanity Fair in an interview published on September 5. She recalled noticing Bruce, now 70, behaving differently during that period, which left her perplexed and questioning, "'What is going on? This is not the person that I married. Something is just so off.'"
The 47-year-old, who had previously described their relationship as a "romantic, beautiful story," admitted that she "couldn’t figure it out." Reflecting on that tumultuous time proved to be an arduous task for Emma, who confessed, "It is so hard right now for me to tap into that time of our life."
As for their relationship now, Emma explained that taking on the role of Bruce's caregiver and overseeing the team of professionals dedicated to his care—a responsibility she once shouldered alone—has allowed her to reclaim the feeling of being "his wife again." However, the essence of their dynamic has inevitably evolved. "It doesn’t even feel like this 'husband and wife' thing," she mused. "We're almost past that. I don’t know what you call this, but it's something else."
"I just feel very connected to him, and I don’t know what that label would be," Emma continued. "It's just deeper. He’s my person."
Her remarks come on the heels of her recent revelation that Bruce—who is also the father of Rumer Willis, 37, Scout Willis, 34, and Tallulah Willis, 31, with his ex-wife, Demi Moore—is living separately from her and their daughters as he continues to receive around-the-clock care. "It was a hard decision for us, but that was the safest and best decision, not just for Bruce but also for our two young girls," Emma explained during a September 9 appearance on "Good Morning America." "It’s really not up for a debate."
While acknowledging that their living arrangement might spark controversy, Emma spoke candidly about the realities of their situation in order to shed light on the true experience of being someone's caregiver, and she stood firmly by her decision. "I’m not going to take a vote on that," Emma asserted. "Now I know that Bruce has the best care, 100 percent of the time. His needs are met 100 percent of the time."
