It is a bittersweet day for Emma Heming and her family.
On Thursday, March 19, Bruce Willis, the MakeTime Wellness founder's husband since 2009, rang in his 71st birthday.
The Die Hard actor and the former model are parents to two daughters, Mabel Ray, 13, and Evelyn Penn, 11, plus he also shares daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 32, with ex-wife Demi Moore to whom he was married from 1987 to 2000.
In honor of Bruce's day, Emma, 47, took to Instagram and shared a photo of him on a boat, smiling, and wrote: "Today we celebrate Bruce's birthday."
"This journey with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has opened my eyes to the realities so many families face," she shared, adding: "It's what inspired me to create The Emma & Bruce Willis Fund to raise awareness of FTD, support research, and stand beside the caregivers who carry so much every day."
Bruce's family first publicly disclosed in 2022 that he had been diagnosed with aphasia, before sharing that the diagnosis was later specified to be FTD.
© InstagramDirecting fans to the couple's foundation — Emma has become a steadfast advocate for those with FTD as well as their caregivers, as she is for Bruce — she further wrote: "If you'd like to honor Bruce today, please consider supporting the fund or another organization working in this space, or simply checking in on a caregiver — a small act of kindness that can mean so much."
Fans were quick to take to the comments section under the post and extend their support, with TODAY's Al Roker writing: "That smile," as others followed suit with: "Watching Moonlighting today because that was the first exposure I had of his greatness! Thanks for loving him so well!" and: "Happy birthday, Bruce! I hope you all have a wonderful day!" as well as: "Thank you for all you do @emmahemingwillis! Your path is so beautiful to watch. Happy birthday to the one who inspires it all, your remarkable husband Bruce!"
Bruce's ex-wife Demi, with whom he has remained close friends since their divorce, also took to Instagram with a heartfelt tribute, sharing a seemingly relatively recent photo of the former couple's first granddaughter, their daughter Rumer's daughter Louetta, who will be three years old next month, planting a kiss on her grandfather. "All you need is LOVE. Happy birthday, BW!" Demi captioned the post, alongside a red heart emoji.
© Getty ImagesIn September, Emma, long vocal about her journey becoming a caregiver for someone with FTD, released a part memoir, part guide, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, which details both her journey in caring for Bruce amid his FTD diagnosis, and offers a guide for caregivers.
© InstagramWhile promoting the book, she spoke with Diane Sawyer for an ABC special, during which she explained: "For someone who was very talkative and engaged, he was just a little more quiet and when the family got together, he would melt," noting: "It felt a little removed, very cold, not like Bruce, who was very warm and affectionate," and that to go "into the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary."
She added that she isn't sure he "ever really connected the dots" to understand his diagnosis, though still, she noted: "Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall, you know," but that "the language is going, and, you know, we've learned to adapt … and we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a ... different way." She added: "It's just his brain that is failing him."
