Bruce Willis Speaks Publicly for First Time Since Dementia Diagnosis While Celebrating 68th Birthday
For the first time since receiving a tragic health diagnosis, Bruce Willis has spoken out.
It was also at his 68th birthday celebrations!
Willis’ personal life is rarely out of the news these days…
Scroll down for an update on his health…
The Die Hard actor has three children with ex-wife Demi Moore: Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah, all of whom are thirty-two years old.
Some might say he has a large family. He is married to Emma Heming Willis…
They also have two daughters together, Mabel, 8, and Evelyn, 6.
People have long admired Bruce Willis and Demi Moore for their lack of drama and conflict…
And, unlike many divorced couples, Moore and Willis have co-parented their children admirably and with little drama.
But in 2020…
The divorced couple did something unusual together. Due to the global pandemic, millions of people were quarantined in their homes…
Demi had to quarantine because the lockdown did not exclude the rich and famous… She was with her ex-husband.
In addition to quarantining her three daughters and their partners in the summer of 2020…
Willis decided to stay and form one big, happy family with them.
Of course, it was refreshing to see a divorced couple maintain such a strong and healthy friendship…
And, judging by the expressions on everyone’s faces, it created an incredibly happy family environment.
But there was one thing on everyone’s mind…How did Willis’ current wife, Emma Hemming Willis, react to this?
It can’t have been easy having your husband choose to quarantine with an ex…
But amazingly so, she took to Instagram to comment on the family photo, saying: “Not many can pull that color off! Lookin’ good squad.”
And it didn’t take long for Demi to weigh in on the unconventional setup.
The actress told Naomi Campbell on her YouTube series, No Filter with Naomi, about spending the first part of her quarantine in Idaho with her ex-husband, their three daughters, and later with Willis’ two younger daughters and his current wife, Emma.
”There’s been a lot of challenges and a lot of tragedy with the pandemic, but I also think there’s been a lot of gifts and blessings.”
She then continued: “I personally feel like I was really grateful for things slowing down and the time that we had. It worked out that Bruce came and spent time with us and then his current wife and their small daughters joined a little bit later when the kids were finished with school.”
“It was really a blessing,” she said of the experience.
“It’s everything that’s come forward has allowed us to reevaluate what’s important and what needs attention that has been overlooked and neglected. It was amazing.”
Emma didn’t seem to have an issue at all…Showing how much trust and love she has for her husband! Willis and Emma clearly have a very strong and healthy marriage…
And their 2 young daughters seem so happy with their loving family life. But in more recent times…
Heartbreaking news has fallen on the family, that has caused Willis to step back from acting.
Willis has been diagnosed with aphasia, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a brain condition that prevents cognitive abilities from working as they should.
It is usually lessened with speech therapy, however, “although most people make significant progress, few people regain full pre-injury communication levels,” the organization says.
Willis’ family gave a statement about the news on social media…
Writing in an Instagram post, they said: “To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family, we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities. As a result of this and with much consideration, Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.”
“This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion, and support,” it continued.
“We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.”
They concluded: “As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that.”
Since the news of Willis’ health went viral, many celebrities have spoken out with words of support after finding out about his diagnosis…
John Travolta, who worked alongside Willis in Pulp Fiction shared a heartwarming tribute to the star.
Travolta called Willis a “generous soul” in his Instagram post.
“Bruce and I became good friends when we shared 2 of our biggest hits together, Pulp Fiction and Look Who’s Talking,” John began. “Years later he said to me, ‘John, I just want you to know that when something good happens to you I feel like it’s happening to me.’ That’s how generous a soul he is. I love you, Bruce.”
As we know, Willis has been known for many incredible movies over the years, and as popular as Pulp Fiction is, he is most recognizable as Detective John McClane in Die Hard.
McClane in Die Hard is what shot Willis into stardom, after this he went on to act in such films as The Fifth Element, The Sixth Sense, and Sin City.
Despite being typecast as a Hollywood hard man, Willis also gained a Golden Globe for his role as a private detective in Moonlighting.
Sadly, his medical condition has meant he has had to step away from acting.
However, it looks like there is a future for Willis’ career…
He has reportedly sold the rights to his digital twin, which will allow him to appear in movies without him actually having to be on set.
“I liked the precision with which my character turned out. It’s a mini-movie in my usual action-comedy genre. For me, it is a great opportunity to go back in time. With the advent of modern technology, even when I was on another continent, I was able to communicate, work and participate in the filming,” he said in a statement.
“It’s a very new and interesting experience, and I thank our entire team,” Willis added.
However, some are worried about the way this new technology could change the acting world.
“Is he in his right mind to even agree to this? Last I heard, his illness messes with his comprehension too. I just hope he actually agreed to do this and no one is trying to take advantage of him,” one person wrote.
More recently, Willis’ family has offered a heartbreaking health update.
“They know he won’t be around forever, so they’re cherishing every single moment. Bruce can’t say much, and it doesn’t seem like he’s grasping much of what others say,” the insider continued.
“There are days when they see glimpses of the old Bruce, but they are brief and far between. It seems he’s slipping further away from them, and it breaks their heart. The girls can’t imagine Christmas without Bruce. It’s been painful to see him deteriorate. The older girls miss the old Bruce.”
But now, Bruce has been hit with another heartbreaking diagnosis.
His family has revealed the actor has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
They wrote following statement on The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration’s website:
“Our family wanted to start by expressing our deepest gratitude for the incredible outpouring of love, support and wonderful stories we have all received since sharing Bruce’s original diagnosis.
“In the spirit of that, we wanted to give you an update about our beloved husband, father and friend since we now have a deeper understanding of what he is experiencing.
“Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD).
“Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.
“FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone. For people under 60, FTD is the most common form of dementia, and because getting the diagnosis can take years, FTD is likely much more prevalent than we know.”
“Bruce always believed in using his voice in the world to help others, and to raise awareness about important issues both publicly and privately.
“We know in our hearts that – if he could today – he would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families.
“Ours is just one family with a loved one who suffers from FTD, and we encourage others facing it to seek out the wealth of information and support available through AFTD
“And for those of you who have been fortunate enough to not have any personal experience with FTD, we hope that you will take the time to learn about it, and support AFTD’s mission in whatever way you can.”
Then, more heartbreaking details of Bruce’s condition were revealed.
Willis also wore an earpiece on set the help instruct him as to what he was supposed to be doing.
He was also spotted asking: “I know why you’re here, and I know why you’re here, but why am I here?”
One crew member told the LA Times: “Someone would give him a line and he didn’t understand what it meant. He was just being puppeted.”
