Bruce Willis and Demi Moore Phil Faraone/VMN18/Getty Images For Comedy Central
Demi Moore has offered further insight into her ex-husband Bruce Willis’ battle with frontotemporal dementia.
Moore, 61, spoke candidly about Bruce, 69, at the 2024 Hamptons International Film Festival on Sunday, October 13, sharing her perspective on the Die Hard actor’s diagnosis, announced in February 2023 by Bruce’s wife, Emma Heming Willis.
“The disease is what the disease is. And I think you have to be in real deep acceptance of what that is,” Moore said at a festival event, per People, that honored Moore with the Career Achievement in Acting Award. “But for where he’s at, he is stable.”
Moore, who was married to Bruce from 1987 to 2000 and shares three daughters, Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 30, with him, expanded even further on her mindset.
“What I always encourage is to just meet them where they’re at. When you’re holding on to what was, I think it’s a losing game,” Moore told the audience. “But when you show up to meet them where they’re at, there is great beauty and sweetness.”
Moore added that she visited Bruce with the pair’s granddaughter, Rumer’s daughter Luetta, 1, “two days ago,” sharing that she is committed to “being able to share with whatever we have, for however long we have it.”
Bruce’s diagnosis came after the Willis family announced in March 2022 that the actor had been battling aphasia, a language disorder that affects one’s ability to communicate. A source exclusively told Us Weekly in December 2023 that the entire clan, including Emma and Bruce’s children, Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10, have served as pillars of strength throughout Bruce’s health journey.
“Bruce has good days and bad days, but in the last two months, there are many more bad days than good,” the source said at the time. “This experience has brought the whole family even closer together. No one knows how much time Bruce has left, so they’re soaking up every moment they get with him.”
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Tallulah opened up about her visits with Bruce recently, telling E! News on August 29 that the pair are deeply connected. “Our visits have so much love and I feel that,” Tallulah told the outlet, adding, “And that overarches anything for me – being able to have that connection.”
She continued, “I know he knows how much I love him. I know how much he loves me. I know how much he loves all of us.”
Rumer also shared news of her father’s health that month, responding to a fan question about Bruce via Instagram Stories on August 22.
“He is great. I love him so much. Thank you,” Rumer wrote at the time, sharing a photo of the pair holding hands.
According to Mayo Clinic, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an “umbrella term for a group of brain diseases that mainly affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain” – areas that are “associated with personality, behavior and language.”
