Bruce Willis' candid message from his wife on their wedding anniversary

(CNN) — Bruce Willis and his wife Emma Heming have been married for 16 years.

On Wednesday, Heming celebrated the couple's anniversary Sharing An Instagram photo of him kissing Willis on the cheek. In the caption she wrote: “16 years with this special man. My love and admiration for him only grows.”

The couple married in 2009 and have two daughters, Mabel and Evelyn.

Heming took to Instagram this week to share the news about how difficult it was to celebrate the relationship milestone while dealing with the “Die Hard” actor's health issues. In the video, she says she was able to “cry a lot” with her close friend.

“It's really important to confide in someone instead of bottling up your feelings, which is what I tend to do,” Hemming says in the video.

In February, Willis' family — including Hemming, his ex-wife Demi Moore and his daughters — announced that the actor had been diagnosed with a dementia called frontotemporal dementia.

“Holidays are hard, anniversaries are hard,” Hemming, who has been open on social media about her experience as Willis' primary caregiver, said in a video this week.

He added that “building community and connection” helped him get through the year. “It was my lifesaver and I want to thank them,” he said.

In the caption of her Instagram video, Hemming wrote about the “countless messages of love and support because Bruce is so loved,” adding that the messages help her feel “less alone.”

“I want to respond to all messages because they are deep, raw and poetic, but please know that I appreciate them very much,” he wrote. “I am very grateful to them.”