"Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
Actor Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis is opening up more about his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, amid the upcoming release of her new book, “The Unexpected Journey.”
In a snippet of her new interview with ABC News shared during “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, August 26, Emma got emotional talking about her husband of 16 years and his ongoing battle with dementia.
During her conversation with ABC News' Diane Sawyer, Emma recalled the subtle moments she referred to as “whispers” that led her to believe something was wrong with her husband.
Known for his affection and love of living life, Emma said concern began to creep in when Bruce began to retreat into himself. “It felt a little removed, very cold, not like Bruce, who was very warm and affectionate," she explained to Sawyer.
"To go in the complete opposite of that was alarming and scary,” Emma admitted. One of the first symptoms to appear prior to Bruce’s diagnosis was his language, including the reappearance of a childhood stutter.
READ MORE: Bruce Willis’s wife Emma Heming Willis shares poignant message on Father’s Day
"The language is going, and, you know, we've learned to adapt," Emma revealed. "And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a ... different way."
As for his physical health, however, Emma said the 70-year-old actor is still “in really great health overall.”
"Bruce is still very mobile,” Emma confirmed. “It's just his brain that is failing him."
Frontotemporal dementia, as its name suggests, “mainly affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain,” according to the Mayo Clinic, which is “associated with personality, behavior and language.” It occurs in younger patients between the ages of 40 and 65.
There is no cure for FTD as symptoms get worse over time. But as Emma told Sawyer, they still experience glimpses of who Bruce used to be, noticing the “twinkle in his eye” from time to time.
"Not days, but we get moments," Emma explained, as she grew emotional. "It's his laugh, right? Like, he has such, like, a hearty laugh. And, you know, sometimes you'll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk, and, you know, I just get, like, transported."
"And it's just hard to see, because as quickly as those moments appear, then it goes. It's hard. But I'm grateful. I'm grateful that my husband is still very much here,” Emma continued.
In addition to his three oldest daughters, Rumor, Scout, and Tallulah, he shares with ex-wife Demi Moore, Bruce and Emma share two daughters as well, Mabel and Evelyn.
“Opposites attract,” Emma said of her initial attraction to Bruce after meeting in 2007, “and I just loved watching him be him. Sawyer called the actor the “original girl dad,” to which Emma agreed, calling him “one of the best.”
As for how aware Bruce is of his diagnosis, Emma said she is not sure that her husband "ever really connected the dots.”
Now, Emma hopes her book, set to hit bookstores on Sept. 9, shares insight into what it’s like to be a caregiver and watching a loved one battle dementia.
The entirety of Sawyer’s interview with Emma premieres at 8 p.m. EST on August 26 on ABC News.
