Demi Breaks Silence on Ex Bruce’s Dementia Battle: “Let Go of Who They Were”

Demi Moore and Bruce Willis were married in 1987 and were together until their divorce in 2000, after which they remained good friends. They had three children together: Tallulah, Rumer, and Scout Willis.

Bruce married Emma Heming, his current wife, in 2009. They had two daughters, Mabel and Evelyn. He stays with them to this day at a house in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Demi Moore on Dementia

The 61-year-old Demi was devastated when Bruce was diagnosed with aphasia(1) in 2022, losing the ability to speak, which was later in February 2023, found to be a symptom of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). She stood by Bruce and became a pillar of emotional support for Emma.

Demi reminisced about their times together and his never-dying will to overcome obstacles. She also advises family members of dementia patients to see them as they are instead of as they were once.

She further explained her ideology: to find joy in their presence and to be with them as much as you can. Once we let go of our expectations of what we need them to be, everything becomes simple and we will start to see them as they are.

She started following this mentality after seeing Bruce Willis’s memory loss and has taught her kids to do the same. This has elevated their understanding of their father’s condition and made them spend time with no grand expectations but rather a chance to spend time together.

Tallulah and Family Support System

Tallulah Wil, their daughter, believes that there should be more awareness of this rare variation of dementia, as there is little to no knowledge regarding this disease among the general populace.

She believed the initial symptoms, like slight unresponsiveness and a lack of response, were due to chronic illness, which was prominent among action stars and crew members, who had to constantly use explosion after explosion too close to the proximity limit, causing damage to ear drums.

She felt alienated within her household as this unresponsiveness broadened, which was misinterpreted by her to be a sign of her father losing interest in her and favoring her step-sisters over her. Although the family is grief-stricken, she believes all her family members are trying to savor as many moments with Bruce as they can.

Ever since the accurate diagnosis of the disease as FTD, Bruce’s condition has been improving steadily, giving hope to the family. Tallulah shares her difficulty accepting such a fate for her heroic father but believes that if anyone can overcome this, it has to be her father.

The 29-year-old entrepreneur and artist, although devastated, is thankful for the accurate diagnosis. She recalls her father as a man who raised his voice for what he believed to be true on public and private platforms.

She shared that if he could, he would be advocating the need for awareness of such a disease, and she has decided it is her responsibility to do something about it.