Bruce Willis’ wife Emma Heming Willis has shared an emotional message following the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.

Hackman, his 64-year-old pianist wife, and one of their dogs were found dead on February 26 in separate rooms of their Santa Fe home.

The Sante Fe sheriff’s office said last week that the 95-year-old Oscar-winning actor was in an advanced state of Alzheimer’s and died of heart disease and other factors. He likely died days after Arakawa, died of a rare syndrome spread by mice, according to autopsy results.

On Thursday (Australian time), Willis – whose husband has frontotemporal dementia – said in an Instagram clip that the twin tragedies were a reminder that caregivers needed support too.

“This is not something I would normally comment on, but I do really believe that there is some learning in this story,” she said.

“It’s just made me think of this broader story, and that is that caregivers need care too. And that they are vital, and that it is so important that we show up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person.”

Willis, 46, later shared a snap of her words “Caregivers need care too”. In the caption, she warned it was not ”sustainable” for caregivers to do take on such big roles alone.

“Caregiving takes a village, yet most are doing it alone. And let me tell you—it’s not sustainable. Check in on caregivers. Show up for them. Without them, none of this works,” she wrote.

Arakawa is believed to have died around February 11, authorities said on Friday. New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator chief investigator Heather Jarrell determined Hackman died on February 18, based on his pacemaker activity.

“He was in an advanced state of Alzheimer’s and it is quite possible he was not aware she was deceased,” Jarrell said.

Arakawa had been Hackman’s main caregiver.

Willis said it was common to think caregivers had “it figured out”.

“They 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,” she said.

Willis and the 69-year-old former actor have been married 17 years and have two daughters, Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10.

He also has adult daughters Rumer, 36, Scout, 33 and Tallulah, 30, with his first wife Demi Moore. The blended families are close.

Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023. Willis has previously been outspoken about the difficulties of being his main caregiver.

“I know it looks like I’m out living my best life. I have to make a conscious effort every single day to live the best life that I can,” she said on Thursday.

“I don’t want it to be misconstrued that like, I’m good, ’cause I’m not. I’m not good. But I have to put my best foot forward for the sake of myself and my family because again, when we are not looking after ourselves, we cannot look after anyone that we love.”

Hackman and Arakawa had lived in Santa Fe since the 1980s and were active in the city’s art community and culinary scene. In recent years, they were seen less often in town as his health deteriorated. They lived a very private life before their deaths, Mendoza said.

A caretaker at their gated community discovered the couple dead. Sheriff’s deputies found Hackman in the kitchen. Arakawa and a dog were found in a bathroom.

Both Hackman and Arakawa appeared to have suddenly fallen to the floor and neither showed signs of blunt force trauma.

Hackman, a former Marine known for his raspy voice, appeared in more than 80 films, as well as on television and the stage during a lengthy career that started in the early 1960s.

He won an Oscar for best actor in 1972 for his portrayal of detective Popeye Doyle in The French Connection, and in 1993 won an Oscar for best supporting actor for Unforgiven.

-with AAP