Rumer Willis has given an update on her father Bruce Willis as he battles dementia and said how he loves to spend quality time with her daughter.
Bruce has five daughters of his own and is just as taken by the newest members of the family, Louetta Isley Thomas Willis, who was born in April 2023. Her parents are Rumer and her boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas.
In an interview with TODAY‘s Hoda Kotb, Rumer opened up about a recent visit from Bruce.
“Lou is just starting to walk a little bit, and she was walking over to him, and it was so sweet,” Rumer shared. “He’s a girl dad, through and through. I saw him with my sisters, my little sisters. So you’re seeing that all come back again.”
The Die Hard star, who stepped away from acting at the age of 67, was diagnosed with aphasia in 2022. Ten months later, Bruce received the more specific diagnosis of frontotemporal degeneration, which is the most common form of dementia (called a “cruel disease” by his ex-wife Demi Moore). As of right now, there are no treatments for his condition.
“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,” Rumer said. “And it really makes me a proud daughter, honestly, to just see how much love he’s getting.”
Rumer is also delighted to see both her parents Bruce and actress Moore in their “grandparent era.”
“Being a grandparent, I think, is the best they have,” she said. “All of the love and joy without any of the responsibilities.”
Becoming a mother has also given Rumer new insights on her relationship with her own mother, sharing how “we can be so harsh on our mom sometimes.”
“I had this moment early on where I think I even went over to my mom’s house and I cried a little bit because I was like, ‘I get it,’” she added. “The love that I feel for her is what she was feeling for me and I just had this depth of love and appreciation.”
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Moving forward, the family aims to be as transparent about Bruce’s condition as possible in order to help others going through similar struggles as well as drawing attention to the need for a cure.
“If it can have any impact on another family that is struggling in any way with something like this, or bring more attention to the disease in hopes of finding a cure or anything that can be of service to anybody else, I think it’s really important,” Rumer said.
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