He calls supporters ‘inner circle’ amid dementia

They have Bruce’s back.

Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, has posted a new Instagram post, opening up about the support she’s received amid the “Die Hard” star’s heartbreaking dementia battle. 

“Bruce calls it the ‘inner circle.’ It’s people that we are fortunate to have in our lives that we can call, trust and rely on. I’m lucky enough to have an inner circle of people that don’t offer a way to fix-it but can just listen. That helps tremendously,” she wrote on Thursday.

“That inner circle is also here on this channel. This past year it was imperative for me to finally be able to build community and connection. And you have shown up. People from all walks of life sharing the same unfortunate thread that connects us.”

“I receive countless messages of love and support because Bruce is so beloved. That showers on him and I am fortunate enough to stand below that to catch those sprinkles that yet, feel like a waterfall of kindness,” she continued. “I wish I could answer all the messages because they are deep, raw and poetic but please know that I appreciate them so very much. It also makes me feel less alone.”

The model ended her message by noting how “grateful” she is for everyone.

Heming Willis paired the new message with a video she shared hours earlier to mark her 16-year anniversary with the actor.

“I just got off the phone with a really dear girlfriend of mine who I was able to have a good cry with. It is really important to be able to have someone that you can trust with your feelings, instead of just bottling them up and putting your best foot forward and just soldiering through,” she said, looking directly at the camera.

“But, holidays are hard. Anniversaries are hard,” she admitted. “For me, this year has really been about community, building a community and connection. And I just want to say, that has been my lifeline. I just want to thank you for that.” 

She also posted photos of herself hugging her longtime love.

“16 years with this special man. My love and adoration for him only grows,” she captioned the Instagram photos.

In the images, the couple is standing on a sidewalk next to bushes, hugging. 

Emma reportedly met Bruce, 68, at their mutual trainer’s gym in 2007, and they tied the knot two years later. They have two daughters together — Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, 9 — and she’s also the stepmother to Willis’ three daughters with his ex-wife, Demi Moore, 61: Rumer, 35, Scout, 32, and Tallulah, 29.

Willis retired from acting in 2022 after being diagnosed with aphasia. In February 2023, his loved ones further revealed that his condition had worsened and that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.

“Moonlighting” creator Glenn Gordon Caron, who is still friends with Willis, told the Post in October that the actor is not “totally verbal.” 

“He’s an extraordinary person. The thing that makes [his disease] so mind-blowing is [that] if you’ve ever spent time with Bruce Willis, there is no one who had any more joie de vivre than he,” Caron said. “He loved life and … just adored waking up every morning and trying to live life to its fullest.

“My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am. He used to be a voracious reader — he didn’t want anyone to know that — and he’s not reading now. All those language skills are no longer available to him, and yet he’s still Bruce.”

Last month, Tallulah reflected on her dad’s “really aggressive” and “very rare” diagnosis while appearing on “The Drew Barrymore Show.”

“He is the same, which I think in this regard I’ve learned is the best thing you can ask for,” she said at the time. “I see love when I’m with him, and it’s my dad and he loves me, which is really special.”