Silke Jasso
Emma Willis is opening up about feeling several emotions on the actor’s first birthday since his family revealed his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis. The actor turned 68-year-old on Sunday, with his wife sharing how it was affecting her via her Instagram stories.
Videos by Rare
“Today is my husband’s birthday. I have started the morning by crying as you can see by my swollen eyes and snotty nose,” Hemming Willis began. “I just think it’s important that you see all sides of this.”
“I always get this message or people always tell me, ‘Oh, you’re so strong. I don’t know how you do it.’ I’m not given a choice,” the 44-year-old continued “I wish I was, but I’m also raising two kids in this.”
Emma Heming Willis on Instagram
“Sometimes in our lives, we have to put our big girl panties on and get to it. And that’s what I’m doing,” she went on. “But I do have times of sadness, every day, grief every day, and I’m really feeling it today on his birthday. I worked on this [forthcoming] reel that I’m posting for my husband’s birthday. I don’t know why I do that to myself because the videos are like a knife in my heart. But as much as I do it for myself I do it for you because I know how much you love my husband,” she continued while reminding herself, “Don’t cry, Emma.”
“But it means so much to me, so thank you,” she ended the video.
Hemmin Willis’ comments come after she also took to Instagram to ask the paparazzi to “keep their space” from the actor when he goes out with family or friends, saying it was “stressful” to go out into the world. She went on to say that people still need to learn more about how to treat people with dementia.
“I know this is your job, but maybe just keep your space,” she stated in the video. “Please don’t be yelling at my husband, asking how he’s doing, whatever. The woo-hooing and the yippee-ki-yay’s — just don’t do it. Give him the space. Allow for our family or whoever’s with him that day to be able to get him from Point A to Point B safely. That’s my PSA.”
