Emma Heming Willis: People can learn from death of Gene Hackman and wife

Emma Heming Willis, the wife of actor Bruce Willis, has said people can learn from the death of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa.

Heming is her husband’s carer, after it was revealed he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2022, and said Hackman and Arakawa’s story showed that “caregivers need care too”.

A pathologist said Hackman died, aged 95, of heart disease a week after Arakawa died, aged 65, of a rare infectious disease.

The pair were found dead along with one of their dogs at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on February 26.

In a post on Instagram, Heming said: “So this is not something I would normally comment on, but I do really believe that there is some learning in this story, in regards to this tragic passing of Mr and Mrs Hackman.

“It’s just made me think of this broader story, and that is that caregivers need care too, and that they are vital, and that it is so important that we show up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person.

“I think that there’s this common misconception that like caregivers, they got it figured out, they got it covered, they’re good.

“I don’t subscribe to that, I think that we need to be showing up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person.”

Her post was captioned: “Caregivers need care too. Period. Full stop.”

It comes after Willis’s ex-wife, Demi Moore, whom he has remained friends with since separating in 2000, said he was in a “very stable place at the moment” in an interview with US outlet CNN in December last year.

Heming has been open about her life caring for the Die Hard star, whom she has been married to for more than 15 years, and said he still lives a life of “love, connection, joy and happiness” in an Instagram post in March 2024.

Willis is best known for starring in films including Pulp Fiction, The Fifth Element and The Sixth Sense.