Bruce Willis' Language Skills Are Fading Due to Frontotemporal Dementia, But 'We Have a Way of Communicating With Him,' Wife Emma Heming Tearfully Shares

Bruce Willis' wife, Emma Heming, is giving new insight into the actor's devastating frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.

In a preview for her interview with Diane Sawyer, which will air fully on ABC the night of Tuesday, August 26, the mother-of-two emotionally recalled how she first noticed something was off with her husband a few years ago.

"For someone who was very talkative and very engaged, he was just a little more quiet," Heming, 47, explained of the changes she saw in the Die Hard star, 70. "And when the family would get together, he would kind of just melt a little bit."

"He felt a little removed, very cold. Not like Bruce, who is very warm and affectionate," she continued. "To go in the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary."

Heming revealed his language skills "are going," but their blended family — Willis shares three grown daughters with ex-wife Demi Moore in addition to two girls with Heming — has "learned to adapt. And we have a way of communicating with him, it's just a different way."

When Sawyer asked if the brood ever sees glimpses of the way the Sixth Sense star used to be, she replied through tears, "It's his laugh, right? He has such a hearty laugh. And sometimes you'll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk. I just get transported."

"And it's just hard to see, because as quickly as those moments appear, then it goes," Heming said, snapping her fingers.

Heming's interview comes on the heels of the September 9 debut of her book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, which focuses on how caregivers also need time for themselves.

The former beauty pageant queen noted how FTD isn't a common diagnosis, as it's often mistaken for bipolar disorder or depression — however, Willis' brain scan confirmed his condition.

Heming recalled feeling "so panicked" after getting the news, especially since her spouse is "in great health overall."

Despite all of the hardships, the model insisted she still feels "grateful."

"I'm grateful that my husband is still very much here," she added.

The movie star's loved ones put out a joint statement in 2022 to reveal Willis was retiring from acting due to health woes, and in 2023, they revealed the official diagnosis.

"Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD)," their message read. "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."