Demi Moore has shared further details about her ex-husband Bruce Willis’ fight with frontotemporal dementia.
Moore, 61, spoke openly about Bruce, 69, during the 2024 Hamptons International Film Festival on Sunday, October 13, revealing her thoughts on the Die Hard actor’s illness, which was confirmed in February 2023 by Bruce’s wife, Emma Heming Willis.
“The sickness is exactly what it is. And I believe you must have a deep acceptance of what that is,” Moore remarked at a festival ceremony where she was recognized with the Career Achievement in Acting Award, according to People. “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 noted that she visited Bruce with the couple’s 17-month-old granddaughter, Rumer’s daughter Luetta, “two days ago,” and that she is devoted to “being able to share with whatever we have, for however long we have it.”
Bruce’s diagnosis came after the Willis family revealed in March 2022 that the star has been suffering aphasia, a linguistic ailment that impairs communication. In December 2023, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that the entire fam, including Emma and Bruce’s children, Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10, had been pillars of support throughout Bruce’s health battle.
“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.”
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 went on, “I know he understands how much I love him. I know how much he adores me. I know how much he adores each of us.”
Rumer also revealed her father’s health status that month, answering a fan inquiry about Bruce via Instagram Stories on August 22.
“He’s great. I adore him so much. “Thank you,” Rumer commented at the time, beside a photo of the two holding hands.
The Mayo Clinic defines frontotemporal dementia (FTD) as a “umbrella term for a group of brain diseases that mainly affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain” – areas “associated with personality, behavior, and language.”
