Emma Willis just opened up about the criticism she received after moving her husband, Bruce Willis, into a separate home.
The 47-year-old has been taking care of the 70-year-old since he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, and she recently revealed she had made the difficult decision to move him into a one-storey house with a full-time care team in order to protect the wellbeing of their daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11.
Taking to her Instagram, in a video, Emma mentioned, “I think that they did a beautiful job with amplifying FTD awareness, as well as shining a spotlight onto caregivers. What I knew is that by sharing some of our intimate information that we would see these two camps. It would be people with an opinion versus people with an actual experience.”
“[I anticipated that] people with an opinion [are quick to judge] the caregiver. That is what caregivers are up against. Judgement from others and criticism from others,” she added.
Emma continued, “Nothing changes an opinion quite as powerfully as when you have an experience. Even if someone is closely familiar with dementia or the condition you are caring for, they aren’t in your home, so they don’t know how your person is behaving or your family dynamics.”
“The truth is that the opinions are so loud and they’re so noisy. But if they don’t have the experience of this, they don’t get a say, and they definitely don’t get a vote,” she concluded in the video.
Emma Willis captioned her post: “Too often, caregivers are judged quickly and unfairly by those who haven’t lived this journey or stood on the front lines of it.”
“Sharing openly may invite opinions, but more importantly, it creates connection and validation for those actually navigating the realities of caregiving every day,” she added, before concluding, “That’s who I share for and so I can build a deeper connection with a community that understands this journey.”
