Bruce Willis' daughter has shared a heartbreaking update about her father's dementia diagnosis.
The Die Hard star announced that he'd been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2023 after revealing that he was retiring from Hollywood the previous year.
Since then, the 70-year-old's wife, Emma Heming Willis, and his daughters, whom he shares with ex-wife Demi Moore, have shared regular updates about the actor's condition with fans.
Willis has been moved into a separate home specially equipped to accommodate his needs, with his eldest daughter, Rumer, revealing her father doesn't always recognise her when she visits.
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Sharing an update with followers during an Instagram Q&A, Rumer explained that it's often hard to answer when people ask how her dad is doing due to the nature of his condition.
"People always ask me this question, and I think it's kind of a hard one to answer, because the truth is that anybody with FTD is not doing great," the 37-year-old explained.
Rumer went on to explain that she is just 'happy and grateful' that she and her daughter are still able to visit him, even though he doesn't always recognise who she is. "I'm so happy and grateful that I still get to go and hug him," she said.
"I'm so grateful that when I go over there, and I give him a hug, whether he recognises me or not, that he can feel the love I've given him, and I can feel it back from him.
"That I still see a spark of him, and he can feel the love that I'm giving," she continued.
"I just feel grateful that I get to go over there with Louetta and we get to spend time with him, and I get to feel the love that he has for me, and that I can love him and be with him."
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FULL TIMELINE OF BRUCE WILLIS' FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA JOURNEY
What is frontotemporal dementia?
According to the NHS, frontotemporal dementia is an uncommon type of dementia which impacts a person's behaviour and language. Unlike other forms of dementia, FTD tends to develop at a younger age, with the majority of people being diagnosed between 45-65.
Symptoms include changes to personality, behaviour, speech problems and, at a later stage, memory loss.
Rumer's update comes as wife Heming Willis revealed that she and the Pulp Fiction star had developed their 'own language' to communicate with each other.
"Bruce and I now have our own language, our own way to be with each other. It’s just about sitting with him, walking with him, listening to him as he tries to verbalise in his own language," the 47-year-old explained in a recent interview with The Times.
"Hearing him, validating him," she added. "It's hard. FTD is just an unkind disease – it constantly takes. Even when you think it can’t take any more, it takes a little more."
Topics: Health, Bruce Willis, Celebrity News
Brenna Cooper