Emma Heming Willis is celebrating 17 years of love with husband Bruce Willis.

On Sunday, December 29, the model and entrepreneur, who married 69-year-old Bruce in 2009, celebrated the anniversary of their first relationship by sharing a post on Instagram with a photo of the couple at sunset as they hung out in the shallows stood in their swimsuits.

“17 years of us ❤️,” Emma, ​​46, began her message before expressing some of the emotional complexities of her situation.

“Anniversaries used to cause excitement,” she continued. “If I’m honest, they stir up all the emotions and leave a heaviness in my heart and a sinking feeling in my stomach. I give myself 30 minutes to sit in the “why him, why us” and feel the anger and sadness. Then I shake it off and return to what is. And what is… is unconditional love. I feel blessed to know that and it is because of him. I would do it again and again in a heartbeat 💞.”

In 2022, Bruce’s family announced that the actor had been diagnosed with the speech disorder aphasia and would be retiring from acting. In 2023, they announced that he had received a more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a progressive disease that causes atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. This, in turn, can lead to speech problems, emotional problems and personality changes.

Since her diagnosis, Emma has been open with fans about her experiences as a family and especially as an advocate for other caregivers. In a message posted to her Instagram Stories in March 2023, she shared that she “cried all morning” leading up to her husband’s birthday.

“I just think it’s important that you see all sides of it,” she said in the video. “I always get this message or people always tell me, ‘Oh, you’re so strong. I don’t know how you do it.’ I’m not given a choice, I wish I had one, but I’m also raising two kids.”

However, the mother of two – she shares Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10, with Bruce – also made it clear that she chooses to live in the now and find the gifts in each day.

“Father’s Day is a time when I can reflect on my deep appreciation and respect for Bruce as I watch him father our little ones,” Emma wrote in a Father’s Day post last year.

“Where it may not be ‘conventional,’ what he teaches them will transcend generations,” she continued. “Unconditional love, kindness, strength, compassion, patience, generosity, resilience.” Happy Father’s Day to the greatest father I know who will forever be the gift that keeps on giving to our family.”

In February, Emma announced that she was writing a “book for nurses” through The Open Field, the book publishing company run by Maria Shriver.

Eager to share information she has learned throughout her nursing career, as well as resources to help others who find themselves in similar situations, Emma said at the time: “For me, knowledge is power, and building a supportive community is about around me was crucial…Identify.” Having the right resources to educate and enlighten me has been impactful and given me the space to continue to move forward in the most positive way so that I can be the best mother, wife, daughter, friend and can be a care partner.”

She added: “I want to be able to share this with the next person who finds themselves here.”

Bruce’s ex-wife Demi Moore also advocated for it Die Hard Actor in the midst of his FTD diagnosis, who often expresses similar feelings.

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When I spoke at the 2024 Hamptons International Film Festival in October, The substance The 62-year-old actress said she tries to meet Bruce where he is on any given day, adding: “If you hold on to what was, I think it’s a losing game. But when you meet them where they are, there is great beauty and sweetness.”

Bruce and Moore share daughters Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 30, and granddaughter Lou, 20 months.