Extending thoughts, prayers, and deepest sympathies to the willis… Bruce Willis aged 69 Diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February that followed an aphasia diagnosis… it’s with profound sadness and heavy heart we share the sad news about Bruce, who has been confirmed to be…..see more.”

“When you take away sometimes some of the stuff that gets in the way from how we all connect every day, the self-judgement or whatever it is, it’s about the connection and the love that you have. It’s so powerful and so present, which is so nice.”

The Willis family announced in March 2022 that the “Die Hard” star would be stepping away from acting due to health issues. At the time, they shared that he had developed a disorder called aphasia, which leads to difficulties writing and speaking.

The following year, in February 2023, they confirmed that Bruce Willis’ condition had progressed and that they had a definitive diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, aka FTD, a degenerative disease that primarily affects communication and behavior, as opposed to memory, like other types of dementia.

Frontotemporal dementia is the most common type of dementia in people under 60. Here’s what to know about Bruce Willis’ health.

“The most beautiful aspect of this in a certain way is … I think sometimes our minds get in the way,” Rumer Willis continued.

The last update on Bruce Willis’ health came from daughter Rumer Willis, who answered questions about him when stopping by TODAY on May 29, 2024. She told co-anchor Hoda Kotb that he was doing “so good” and recently enjoyed spending time with his granddaughter, Louetta.

She also shared that his condition is “ever-evolving” and that she and her family focus on the love they’re surrounded by when with him.
“When there’s not that anxiety or stuff that’s there every day that we all move through the world with, the biggest connection that we all have is just through such a depth of loving,” Rumer Willils explained. “It’s so nice.”

She shared another update at the premiere of her new movie, “My Divorce Party,” a few weeks before on May 2.

“He’s great. Yeah, yeah, doing OK. Thank you so much for asking,” Rumer Willis told Fox News.

Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, 45, previously shared a glimpse of how he’s doing in March 2024, when she took to Instagram to slam headlines reporting incorrect information about his condition.

She started the clip by saying how claims that her husband had “no more joy” due to his condition “triggered” her.

“I can just tell you, that is far from the truth,” Heming Willis explained. “I need society and whoever’s writing these stupid headlines to stop scaring people. Stop scaring people to think that once they get a diagnosis of some kind of neurocognitive disease that that’s it, it’s over.”

“No, it is the complete opposite of that, OK? 100% there is grief and sadness, there is all of that. But you start a new chapter … filled with love … connection … joy … happiness. That’s where we are,” she added.

Two months prior, in January 2024, Bruce Willis’ ex-wife, Demi Moore, spoke to Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM show, Radio Andy, about Bruce’s condition and caregiving.

“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.
In November 2023, Tallulah Willis, Bruce Willis’ youngest daughter with ex Moore, shared an update on her dad’s condition on “The Drew Barrymore Show.” She described Bruce Willis’ dementia as “really aggressive,” adding, “He is the same, which, I think, in this regard, I’ve learned is the best thing you can ask for.”

“I see love when I’m with him, and it’s my dad and he loves me,” Tallulah Willis said. “Playing music … and sitting in that and this energy of love, it’s really special.”

During a September 2023 appearance on TODAY, Heming Willis spoke about caregiving and how Willis was doing for World FTD Awareness Week. It was her first interview since his diagnosis was made public.

“Dementia is hard,” Heming Willis said. “It’s hard on the person diagnosed, it’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say this is a family disease, it really is.” (She and Bruce Willis share two daughters, Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, 9.)

Asked if her husband was aware of what’s going on with his health, Heming Willis replied, “It’s hard to know.”

She added that accepting his diagnosis has been “painful, but … just being in the know of what is happening to Bruce makes it a little easier.” Bruce Willis’ family also occasionally shares photos of him to mark special occasions.

For his 69th birthday in March, Moore posted a picture of Willis reclining in a chair sitting next to her and holding her arm. “Happy birthday, BW! We love you and are so grateful for you,” she captioned it.

The Willis family previously marked birthday on March 19, 2023, with a video of Bruce Willis’ shared to Moore’s Twitter account — the first of him since his diagnosis was announced publicly. In the sweet clip, his daughters and wife sing “Happy Birthday” to him as he jokes about their vocal range in the background.

In February 2023, the Willis family shared in a statement that they finally had a “clear diagnosis” of frontotemporal dementia, adding that “challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces.”

Since then, his family has shared at times how they’re coping with his condition.

During a May 29 TODAY appearance, Rumer Willis reflected on the support she and her family have received.

“What’s lovely is people will stop me on the street or at the airport, wherever it is, and are so effusive about how much they love him, how much of an impact he’s had on them, or just that they’re sending love to our family,” she said. “It really makes me a proud daughter, honestly, to just see how much love he’s getting

“It’s such a testament to who he is. He’s so beloved,” she added.

In March, Heming Willis also shared a powerful message about celebrating milestones with a loved one with dementia and posted sweet pics in honor of her 15th wedding anniversary.

“I can make a choice. I can wallow in sorrow or I can celebrate it. I call this the ‘remarkable reframe.’ What I know is there is so much to celebrate,” she wrote on Instagram. “Our union and connection is probably stronger than ever. We have two bright, fun and healthy daughters. We have a family unit that is built on mutual respect and admiration. And simply, I just love and adore the man I married. I’m so proud of what we have and continue to create. So, happy crystal anniversary to us! “

The mother of two previously shared a glimpse of her life caring for her husband in an Instagram post shared in late December.

“Holidays are hard. Anniversaries are hard. But for me this year, it has really been about community,” she said, adding that she’d just had a “good cry” with a close friend of hers.

Around the same time, Heming Willis shared a series of snapshots of the couple, writing, “My love and adoration for him only grows.”

In August 2023, she acknowledged that she often struggles with staying positive with caring for her husband.

“I have to make a conscious effort every single day to live the best life that I can,” she said in an Instagram video. “I do that for myself. I do that for our two children and Bruce, who would not want me to live any other way.”

“So I don’t want it to be misconstrued that, like, I’m good — because I’m not good,” she continued. “But I have to put my best foot forward for the sake of myself and my family.”