Personal crises impact families at all levels, including celebrities. But it’s how they stick together and support each other that matters.
Michael J. Fox, Chris Stapleton, Jason Aldean and Bruce Willis all have strong wives by their sides, providing support through disease, controversy and other personal struggles.
These long-lasting marriages have had their ups and downs, but all these men credit their wives with helping them through some of their darkest times.
Read on for details on how these incredible women are the unsung heroes of Hollywood.
MICHAEL J FOX GETS SCARED AMID PARKINSON’S DISEASE BATTLE BUT ‘THE ABSENCE OF FEAR IS FAITH’
Michael J. Fox, Chris Stapleton and Bruce Willis’ wives have all supported their husbands through their ups and downs. (Getty Images)
Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan
Tracy Pollan and Michael J. Fox have been married for 35 years. (Michael Loccisano)
Michael J. Fox has been very open about his battle with Parkinson’s disease over the years, including its impact on his family.
Fox recently told Town & Country that he fears “anything that would put my family in jeopardy,” including falling into them and causing injury.
The “Back to the Future” star has been married to his wife, Tracy Pollan, for 35 years, and the couple share four children.
Throughout his struggle with the disease, Fox has heaped praise on Pollan for supporting him every step of the way.
“She has this disease, too, in a sense, because I do,” Fox told CBC News in May. “Right from the beginning, before any of this happened, I took this young actress whose career was hopping, she was doing great, she was beautiful, and I made her a single mother and I took her out of the game.”
MICHAEL J FOX REVEALS WIFE’S REACTION TO HIS PARKINSON’S DISEASE DIAGNOSIS
Fox has celebrated Pollan for her support through his Parkinson’s diagnosis. (Emma McIntyre/WireImage)
He continued, “I always felt bad about that, and here I was doing it again with Parkinson’s, kind of superimposing my agenda and a trial on her that wasn’t hers to endure.”
The couple met on the set of “Family Ties” in 1985 when Pollan was cast as his character’s love interest. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 but didn’t publicly reveal his illness until 1998.
“Any good in our family, anything good that we do, comes from her,” Fox told People magazine at the SXSW premiere of his documentary “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.”
“I think we really listen to each other. We are there for each other when we need each other,” Pollan said at the premiere. “And then we also give each other space when that’s needed. Just feeling off of what’s needed at the moment and trying to be there.”
Pollan credited her and her husband’s ability to listen to one another for making their relationship last. (Rick Kern/FilmMagic)
Chris Stapleton and Morgane Stapleton
Chris Stapleton said the key to his successful marriage to his wife, Morgane, is communication. (Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Chris Stapleton and Morgane Stapleton have been married for 16 years, and they shared insight into how they’ve made it last all this time.
“The key to a successful marriage, I’d say communication,” Stapleton told Fox News Digital at the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony earlier this year.
“We’re always working on that … love and kindness and patience. I think you have those things in play, hopefully, you can overcome whatever obstacles.”
Stapleton’s biggest obstacle for years was a problem with alcohol. He would regularly drink before performances before deciding to quit.
“I like to tell people that I got into a drinking contest with myself in my 20s, and I lost,” he revealed in an interview with GQ. “When you’re younger, you feel like you have to do certain things in order to occupy some of these spaces, to make yourself feel like you’re legit. You want to feel things. You want to be able to write about things authentically,” he said.
Chris Stapleton says he and wife Morgane entered therapy together during the pandemic. (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
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Over time, Stapleton and Morgane, who share five children together, decided to attend therapy together.
“It was a way to kind of help us navigate what the world was, what that meant to our family, to our business,” he shared with GQ of their decision.
Stapleton also noted that Morgane, who plays the tambourine at every performance, is his “barometer” for new songs.
“Even if your wife wasn’t heavily involved in your career, if you’re happily married, and you want to stay that way, you don’t want to sing things that your wife hates,” he told GQ.
Stapleton told GQ his wife, Morgane, is his “barometer” for new music. (Getty Images)
Jason Aldean and Brittany Aldean
Jason Aldean’s wife, Brittany, came to his defense during the backlash he faced over his song “Try That in a Small Town.” (John Shearer/Getty Images for CMA)
Jason Aldean came under fire for the lyrics and music video for his song “Try That in a Small Town,” released in May, and faced accusations of racism over the content.
Aldean’s wife of eight years, Brittany, was quick to come to her husband’s defense on social media.
At the time, she shared a selfie of the couple while on the beach and writing, “Never apologize for speaking the truth.”
She also went on her Instagram Stories, writing, “Media… it’s the same song and dance. Twist everything you can to fit your repulsive narrative. How about instead of creating stories, we focus on the REAL ones such as CHILD TRAFFICKING? Food for thought.”
Brittany Aldean shared comments on social media to support her husband amid the “Try That in a Small Town” controversy. (Instagram/ Brittany Aldean)
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In November, Aldean told Fox News Digital that Brittany “gets fired up” when they deal with backlash.
“I think she probably gets fired up a little bit because it kind of trickles down because she obviously is on social media and those things a lot more than I am,” he began. “So, a lot of times it’ll be, you know, she may see something and go, ‘Hey, have you heard about such and such?’”
Jason and Brittany tied the knot in 2015 and have two children — son Memphis, 7, and daughter Navy, 4. Aldean also has two daughters with ex-wife Jessica Ussery — Keeley and Kendyl. The former couple was married for 12 years before splitting in 2013.
Aldean said his wife, Brittany, “gets fired up” when the couple faces backlash. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Bruce Willis and Emma Heming
Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming, has been open about the struggles her family has faced in the wake of her husband’s diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia. (Larry Busacca/VF14/WireImage/Getty Images)
Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February, impacting his ability to understand speech and communicate, after an earlier aphasia diagnosis in 2022.
By his side throughout the diagnosis has been his wife of 14 years, Emma Heming Willis. The couple shares two daughters, Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, 9, along with Willis’ grown daughters, Rumer, Scout and Tallulah, with ex Demi Moore.
Heming has been open about how the “Die Hard” star’s condition has affected her and their family.
In September, she told Hoda Kotb that it’s hard to tell if Willis is aware of his condition.
Emma Heming Willis recently revealed that “it’s hard to know” if her husband, Bruce Willis, is aware of his dementia diagnosis. (VCG via Getty Images)
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“What I’m learning is that dementia is hard. It’s hard on the person diagnosed. It’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce or myself or our girls,” Heming shared. “And when they say that this is a family disease, it really is.”
The 45-year-old wrote an op-ed for Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper in November and spoke about how she hopes being honest about her husband’s condition can help others.
“I have hope in having found a new purpose — admittedly one I never would have gone looking for — using the spotlight to help and empower others,” she wrote. “And I have hope in how our entire family can find joy in the small things, and in coming together to celebrate all the moments life has to offer.”
