Demi Moore shares update on Bruce Willis amid actor’s dementia battle
Demi Moore is offering advice to families whose loved ones have dementia as she shares an update on her ex-husband, Bruce Willis.
The “Feud” star spoke about Willis on “Good Morning America” Wednesday after the actor was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023.
“I think given the givens, he’s doing very well,” she said.
Moore also revealed the advice she has imparted on her kids amid Willis’ dementia battle. She and the “Die Hard” star share three adult children: Rumer, Scout and Tallulah.
“What I’ll share is what I say to my children, which (is) it’s important to just meet them where they’re at and not hold onto what isn’t, but what is, because there’s great beauty and sweetness and loving and joy out of that,” she said.
Moore shared a similar message while speaking to Andy Cohen on Sirius XM when asked what she would say to those who are caring for a family member with dementia.
“When you let go of who they’ve been, or who you think they (are), or who even you would like them to be, you can then really stay in the present and take in the joy and the love that is present and there for all that they are, not all that they’re not,” she said.
Willis was married to Moore from 1987 to 2000. He is now married to Emma Heming, while Moore wed Ashton Kutcher in 2005 before they separated in 2011.
Bruce Willisand my dad received the same aphasia diagnosis. Then everything changed.
Willis’ family announced in March 2022 that he would step away from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, which they said was impacting his cognitive abilities. In February 2023, the family said his condition had “progressed” and that he received the more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.
“Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces,” the family’s statement said. “While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”
Frontotemporal dementia, or FTD, represents a group of brain disorders caused by the degeneration of the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain, according to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.
Bruce Williswas diagnosed frontotemporal dementia. What is it? Causes, symptoms, treatments
In October, Willis’ friend Glenn Gordon Caron, the creator of “Moonlighting,” told The New York Post that the actor is “not totally verbal.” But while “language skills are no longer available to him,” Caron said that “when you’re with him you know that he’s Bruce.”
Willis’ wife, Emma Heming, has previously opened up about caring for the actor, posting on Instagram in 2023 that she has “times of sadness every day, grief every day.”
Contributing: Jordan Mendoza
