NEWSBruce Willis' Wife Emma Heming Declares 'Caregivers Need Care Too' After Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's Devastating Deaths
Betsy Arakawa was her husband Gene Hackman's primary caretaker before they both died.
As a fellow caretaker, Emma Heming Willis sympathizes with Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa's unfortunate deaths.
While she would not "normally comment on" the two-time Oscar winner's "tragic passing," the wife of dementia-stricken Bruce Willis took to Instagram on Monday, March 10, to advocate for those taking care of individuals will full-time needs, as she has a similar role in her husband's life as Betsy did before she died.
Emma Heming Willis has been caring for her husband, Bruce Willis, amid his battle with frontotemporal dementa.
"I do really believe that there is some learning in this story. It’s just made me think of this broader story, and that is that caregivers need care too and that they are vital," Emma explained in a self-recorded social media video. "It is so important that we show up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person."
The model noted how there is a common "misconception that caregivers [have] got it figured out."
"[People think] they’ve got it covered. They’re good. I don’t subscribe to that. I think that we need to be showing up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person," she declared.
Emma, whose been caring for Bruce ever since he was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022 and frontotemporal dementia the following year, emphasized in the caption of her upload, writing, "Caregivers need care too. Period. Full stop. #supportcaregivers."
Emma Heming Willis has been married to Bruce willis since 2009.
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In the comments section of Emma's post, many of her followers agreed with the actress' thoughts.
"I was thinking the same thing when I heard about this tragedy ….where was the team ? 😢," one person pointed out, as another Instagram user added, "💯💯💯💯 Someone should have checked in on Mrs. Hackman! Very sad situation. Thank you!!"
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home last month.
"I’m so glad you said this because that’s exactly what I was thinking when this happened that his wife was so devoted to him that she didn’t take care of herself and this happens a lot with women a lot! She didn’t have any children, but I’m amazed that no friends checked in on her," a third fan wrote, while a fourth penned: "Every caregiver’s worst nightmare — that something will happen to us and our person will be left vulnerable. So so sad."
Emma's food for thought comes just days after it was confirmed that Betsy died at age 63 roughly one week before Gene lost his life at age 95.
Betsy Arakawa died roughly one week before her husband, Gene Hackman.
Dr. Heather Jarrell, Chief Medical Examiner for New Mexico at the office of the Medical Investigator, revealed last week that Betsy is believed to have died on February 11 as a result of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome — a rare rat-borne disease typically presenting itself at first with flu-like symptoms.
The illness can progress rapidly, leading to symptoms like inability to breathe properly, low blood pressure or organ failure.
Meanwhile, Gene is said to have died on February 18, which was when his pacemaker last made a recording roughly one week after Betsy's passing.
The Unforgiven actor's cause of death was listed as hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer's disease as a significant contributing factor.
The late award-winning actor's stomach was empty at the time of his death, with officials noting there was a strong chance Hackman didn't realize his wife had died in the week he spent without her.
