Amid Bruce Willis’s ongoing experience with frontotemporal dementia, Emma Heming Willis has shared how the Bruce Willis family holiday traditions have evolved, bringing a blend of joy and adaptation to their celebrations. At the End Well 2025 conference in Los Angeles, Emma, 47, spoke candidly about the changes, reflecting on the emotional, yet positive, atmosphere shaping their holidays this year.
The Willis Family Finds New Ways to Celebrate Together
Barely two years have passed since Bruce Willis’s family made public his aphasia diagnosis, which led him to step away from acting, followed by the progression to frontotemporal dementia. The Willis family, including Bruce’s daughters Mabel Ray and Evelyn Penn with Emma, as well as Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah with Demi Moore, has worked to keep their traditions alive, even as the nature of those traditions transforms.
Emma emphasized how the Willis family continues to cherish Christmas, though it has taken on a new look since Bruce’s diagnosis.
“Bruce loved Christmas, and we love celebrating it with him. It just looks different, so we’ve kind of adapted to that.”
– Emma Heming Willis
While caring for someone with dementia brings emotional moments, the family keeps a sense of humor and honors Bruce’s legacy—particularly when it comes to his iconic holiday film.
“It’s important to put ‘Die Hard’ on because it’s a Christmas movie.”
– Emma Heming Willis
Adapting Traditions and Embracing Joy in Change
Emma highlighted how the Willis family focuses on finding joy despite the challenges of dementia, emphasizing that connection and laughter remain central to their gatherings.
“You have to learn and adapt and make new memories, bring in the same traditions that you had before,”
she said.
“Life goes on. It just goes on.”
– Emma Heming Willis
She also remarked on the broader experience of families dealing with dementia, encouraging others to seek out positivity.
“I think it’s important that we don’t paint such a negative picture around dementia,”
Emma stated.
“We are still laughing. There is still joy. It just looks different.”
– Emma Heming Willis
Home Life: Focusing on the Present and Simple Joys
Bruce and Emma, married since 2009, share a household rooted in simplicity and presence. Their daughters, Mabel Ray and Evelyn Penn, form part of a close-knit family, with Bruce’s older daughters—Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah—regularly involved. Even with Bruce’s health changes, Emma described their day-to-day routines as steady and grounded.
“Very simple — it always actually has been.”
– Emma Heming Willis
Being present in each moment and embracing their roles as a devoted family continue to be central.
“I think that just being able to be present with him, that is the joy,”
Emma shared.
“Me being able to be his wife with him. Those are the moments.”
– Emma Heming Willis
Rumer Willis Offers a Daughter’s Perspective
Providing her own insight, Bruce’s daughter Rumer Willis recently addressed her father’s condition during an Instagram Q&A, showing admiration for her dad’s resilience and the family’s closeness.
“People always ask me this question,”
Rumer said.
“And I think it’s kind of a hard one to answer, because the truth is that anybody with FTD is not doing great. But he’s doing OK in terms of somebody who’s dealing with frontotemporal dementia, you know what I mean?”
– Rumer Willis
Rumer emphasized the importance of the love they share, regardless of memory or recognition.
“I’m so grateful that when I go over there and give him a hug, whether he recognizes me or not, that he can feel the love I’ve given him and I can feel it back.”
– Rumer Willis
The Willis family’s story stands as an example of how families can adjust their holiday traditions to embrace change, prioritize meaningful connection, and maintain hope and joy in the face of adversity. Their experiences offer inspiration to others navigating similar journeys, showing that the heart of the holiday season truly lies in the moments spent together.
Rumer Willis gives heartbreaking update on dad Bruce’s dementia battle: ‘Not doing great’ https://t.co/E62Zw0WG8e pic.twitter.com/7ZB5zJ9RmB
— New York Post (@nypost) November 21, 2025
