Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming, admitted she has a “heaviness” in her heart while celebrating their 17th anniversary amid the actor’s battle with dementia.
“Anniversaries used to bring excitement — now, if I’m honest, they stir up all the feelings, leaving a heaviness in my heart and a pit in my stomach,” the model wrote via Instagram Sunday.
“I give myself 30 minutes to sit in the ‘why him, why us,’ to feel the anger and grief.”
Heming, 46, continued, “Then I shake it off and return to what is. And what is… is unconditional love. I feel blessed to know it, and it’s because of him. I’d do it all over again and again in a heartbeat 💞.”
Along with her candid message, she shared a throwback photo of herself and Willis, 69, cuddled up in the ocean at sunset.
The couple started dating in 2007, seven years after the “Die Hard” star’s divorce from Demi Moore.
They tied the knot in 2009 and went on to welcome daughters Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10, during their 15-year union.
The actor also shares daughters Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 30, with Moore, whom he was married to from 1987 to 2000.
The former spouses have maintained a close and amicable relationship over the years, including during the “Armageddon” star’s journey with aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
In March 2022, Willis’ family, including Moore, released a statement revealing he was stepping away from acting after being diagnosed withaphasia.
According to the Mayo Clinic, aphasia is a medical condition that can impact a person’s ability to communicate.
A year later, the father of five was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
Despite Willis’ diagnoses, Moore, 62, shared her ex-husband was in a “very stable place” during an interview with CNN earlier this month.
“There is great loss, but there is also great beauty and gifts that can come from it,” the “Substance” actress said of her ex’s condition.
“It’s so important for anybody who’s dealing with this to really meet them where they’re at. And from that place, there is such loving and joy.”