Emma Heming Willis, the wife of Bruce Willis, has shared a new video offering tips on how to 'show up' for the caregivers in their lives. Emma, 46, married Bruce, 69, in 2009 and shared this video to raise awareness for National Caregivers Day today. In the video, Emma gives up advice for anyone who knows any caregivers out there and how friends and family can genuinely help in difficult situations.
The founder of the Make Time Wellness brand and podcast has been officially caring for her actor husband since his retirement in 2022. This was due to aphasia, which was followed by a later diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia a year later in 2023. As she posted the video to Instagram she captioned the clip: "National Caregivers Day. Let’s move away from saying, 'let me know if you need anything,' and instead say, 'here’s how I can help you.' It’s tangible, actionable, and takes the burden off the caregiver to decide". She added to "be specific—offer real support," offering suggestions such as: "Drop off a meal, run an errand, or surprise them with their favourite coffee. Take the guesswork off their plate".
"Caregiving is heavy, but support doesn’t have to be complicated. A small, thoughtful act can make all the difference," she explained, gaining nearly 3,000 likes. Beginning the video, Emma shared that she thought she would "get in front of it" as she knew "so many of you want to know how to best support someone who is a caregiver in your life".
The former model said that instead of generally asking "If there's anything [you] can do, please let me know" loved ones should "think about a couple of things that you can do for them". She also clarified how it can be "really hard for the caregiver to come up" with "parameters" and "boundaries" to such a broad question.
Clearly drawing from her own experience, Emma shared that caregivers "don't want to feel like they're being a burden," therefore concerned family and friends should "let them know how you can show up for them". Emma then gave a list of examples on how friends and family can support carers such as getting "groceries for the week;" offering to "come sit [with the person needing care] for two hours while you go do whatever you want;" taking time to "pick your kids up from school and take them to dinner" or even getting your car washed/serviced. Promoting thoughtfulness to those restricted by caring duties, Emma concluded by asking viewers to "think about how you would want to be able to show up for a caregiver in your life and support them for National Caregiver's Day, or any day in the future".
