Bruce Willis' Wife Emma Heming Reveals 'Wakeup Call' That Led Her to Move Actor Into a Separate Home Due to His Dementia Battle

Bruce Willis' wife, Emma Heming, is continuing to tell her story as she cares for her husband amid his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.

Earlier this month, the mom-of-two received backlash when she revealed the movie star lives separately at a nearby house with a full-time care team while she looks after their daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11.

In a Tuesday, September 9, interview on Good Morning America, Heming said she "knew" her reveal would spark controversy.

"It was a hard decision for us, but was the safest and best decision — not just for Bruce, but also for our two young girls," the model, 47, shared. "And, you know, it's really not up for a debate. Now I know that Bruce has the best care 100 percent of the time. His needs are met 100 percent of the time, as well as our two young daughters. So I'm not gonna take a vote on that."

"I feel like caregivers are so judged, and it just goes to show that people sometimes just have an opinion versus really having the experience. And I'll say that dementia plays out differently in every household," she shared. "If you've seen one case of dementia, it's one case of dementia. So you have to do what is right for your family and what is going to keep your loved one safe, as well as your young children."

The brunette beauty revealed it was a chat with the actor's neurologist that led her to make the decision, as the doctor informed Heming "that sometimes caregivers die before their loved ones."

"I think that was my wakeup call to realize that I need to get help, and I'm not a failure because I need help. It's okay for me to raise my hand," she spilled. "I didn't realize that. I really needed permission for someone to tell me that it's okay to get help."

"That's what I hope that this book does for caregivers: It just gives them the permission to be able to care for themselves because if they don't, how will they be able to show up and continue to care for the person that they love?" she added of her tome, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, which hit shelves the same day as her GMA interview.

The Die Hard star's loved ones announced in 2022 that he was retiring from acting due to aphasia, and the following year, he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.

While the condition has taken his language and some of his motor skills, the movie star's spouse and their blended family — which also includes ex-wife Demi Moore and her three adult daughters with the Sixth Sense lead — have "learned to adapt. And we have a way of communicating with him, it's just a different way," Heming said.