Emma Heming shared her thoughts on Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s deaths from a caregiver’s perspective.
The model, who is her husband Bruce Willis’ caretaker, acknowledged via Instagram Monday that she would not “normally comment on” the “French Connection” star’s “tragic passing.”
The 95-year-old notably was found dead in his New Mexico home last month, along with Arakawa, who was 65.
Heming explained, “I do really believe that there is some learning in this story. It’s just made me think of this broader story, and that is that caregivers need care too and that they are vital.
“It is so important that we show up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person,” she continued.
The actress attempted to clarify the “misconception that caregivers [have] got it figured out.”
She noted, “[People think] they’ve 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.”
Heming reiterated this in her video’s caption, writing, “Caregivers need care too. Period. Full stop. #supportcaregivers.”
The businesswoman has frequently spoken about the struggles of caregiving since revealing Willis’ frontotemporal dementia diagnosis in 2023, one year after sharing the “Die Hard” star’s aphasia battle.
Heming once clapped back at claims she has used Willis’ health struggles for “five minutes” of fame.
“I’m going to take my five minutes and I’m gonna turn it into 10 because I’m always going to advocate for my husband,” she quipped in May 2023. “And then I’m going to turn my grief and my anger and my sadness into something good around something that feels less than.”
Heming’s comments weighing in on Hackman and Arakawa’s death come three days after Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza detailed the believed timeline of the tragedy in a press conference.
After the concert pianist died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), a rare virus transmitted by rodents, in February, her husband likely spent one week alone in the home with his wife’s body.
New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner Heather Jarrell speculated that it’s “quite possible” Hackman, who showed “evidence of advanced Alzheimer’s disease,” did not realize his wife was dead.
The couple, who wed in 1991, are survived by his three children — Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 63, and Leslie, 58.
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