Emma Heming Willis is opening up about her private world with husband Bruce Willis.

The advocate and model, 47, is getting candid in an upcoming interview with Diane Sawyer about the 70-year-old "Die Hard" actor's dementia diagnosis and how the family is handling it all.

"I was so panicked, and I just remember hearing it and just not hearing anything else," Heming Willis told Sawyer in a teaser clip released Wednesday, Aug. 13. The actress' interview with Sawyer is set to air in full during the ABC special "Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey" on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 8 p.m. ET.

The legendary actor retired after being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023.

Earlier this year, after the death of Oscar winner Gene Hackman and his wife and caregiver Betsy Arakawa, Heming Willis wrote in a vulnerable Instagram caption that "caregivers need care too. Period. Full stop. #supportcaregivers."

On Father's Day, Heming Willis spoke out about what their "unexpected journey" looks like for her family.

In an Instagram post on Sunday, June 15, she wished a happy Father's Day "to all the dads living with disability or disease, showing up in the ways they can and to the children who show up for them."

She added that Willis teaches their children "resilience, unconditional love, and the quiet strength in simply being present." The couple share two daughters: Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11. The actor also has three adult daughters with his ex-wife and Oscar nominee Demi Moore: Rumer, 36; Scout, 34; and Tallulah, 31.

But Heming Willis also shared that she was feeling "profoundly sad today," reflecting, "I wish, with every cell in my body, that things could be different for him and lighter for our family." She said the phrase "it is what it is" helps her "return to the acceptance of what is and not fight this every step of the way like I used to."

On March 21, the couple celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary: "Today marks 16 years with the love of a lifetime," Heming Willis wrote in a heartfelt Instagram caption.

"We've shared monumental highs and devastating lows, and through it all, we've built something timeless," Heming Willis wrote. "I'm so deeply grateful for every chapter I've had with him—and all the ones we’ll continue to write, in our language of unconditional love."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Emma Heming Willis was 'panicked' by husband Bruce Willis' dementia diagnosis

Reporting by Jay Stahl, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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