Bruce Willis's wife says the holidays and anniversaries 'are hard' during dementia battle -

Bruce Willis’s wife Emma has shared she has been finding this time of year “hard” as he continues to battle his dementia and other health issues.

Taking to her Instagram, Emma shared a video where she once again got candid about struggling watching her 68-year-old spouse deteriorate. She thanked followers for their support and called the “community” she has online a “lifeline.” During the Christmas period, she and the Hollywood actor celebrated their 16th anniversary, with Emma calling it “hard.” Bruce was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) earlier this year, and it came just shy of a year after he received an aphasia diagnosis.

Emma shares ‘hard’ time celebrating amid Bruce Willis’s dementia battle

Starting her video, Bruce Willis’s wife explained she’d been struggling with his dementia battle and had a “good cry” with a “dear friend.” She believed it was “really important” to have people around with whom you can “trust with your feelings.”

Emma wrote: “Instead of just bottling them [emotions] up and putting your best foot forward, and just kind of soldiering through stuff, which I have a tendency to do. But you know, holidays are hard. Anniversaries are hard. But for me this year, it has really been about building a community and connection.

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“I just wanna say that has been my lifeline and I just want to thank you for that.”

In the lengthy caption, she penned, in part: “Bruce calls it the “inner circle.” It’s people that we are fortunate to have in our lives that we can call, trust, and rely on. I’m lucky enough to have an inner circle of people that don’t offer a way to fix it, but can just listen. That helps tremendously.

“I receive countless messages of love and support because Bruce is so beloved. That showers on him and I am fortunate enough to stand below that to catch those sprinkles that yet, feel like a waterfall of kindness. I wish I could answer all the messages because they are deep, raw, and poetic but please know that I appreciate them so very much. It also makes me feel less alone. I am grateful to you [revolving hearts emoji].”

Emma and Bruce Willis celebrates anniversary

Two days before the post, Willis’s wife shared a photo of herself with the celebrity, who has dementia, in a sunny location. She can be seen planting a kiss on his cheek while he looks off in the distance. The movie star wears a sun hat, along with shades and a green shirt. Meanwhile, Emma dons a white dress with shades and her hair in a bun.

Emma captioned the post: “16 years with this special man. My love and adoration for him only grows,” and fans flooded the comments to share their love for the couple.

One person wrote: “He’s lucky to have you [hands making a heart emoji].”

Another said: “Happy anniversary to an awesome couple,” adding two red heart emojis.

A third commented: “Ohh I love you two! These pictures are perfect” with pleading eyes, praying hands, and a black heart emoji.

A fourth penned: “You are so strong. I admire you both so much. The love you have for each other is so evident !!!! Hold tight!!!”

Emma has been open about their journey

Willis’ wife has been documenting how Bruce and their family have been coping with the upsetting circumstances of his dementia. Emma said she was finding it hard, but it was also helping her understand the actor better.

She previously said: “… to finally understand what was happening so that I could be into the acceptance of what is – it doesn’t make it any less painful, but … just being in the know of what is happening to Bruce makes it a little easier.”

She added: “It’s hard on the person diagnosed, it’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say this is a family disease, it really is.”

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