Rumer Willis has shared her thoughts on the unique bond she has with her three-year-old daughter, Louetta, and her father, Bruce Willis, in light of his recent dementia diagnosis. The 37-year-old actress discussed her experiences during a recent appearance on Maeve Reilly’s podcast, The Inside Edit.
“I love getting to go over and see him,” Rumer, who is raising her daughter with her ex-partner Derek Richard Thomas, said. “I’m so grateful that I have a child that got to meet him because I don’t know if my sisters will have that. You know, who knows?”
Even though their time together has changed, Rumer expressed deep gratitude for the moments they still share. “There’s a sweetness. He’s always been this kind of macho dude and there’s like a — fragile is not the right word but — just a tenderness that maybe being Bruce Willis might not have allowed him in a certain way.”
As the eldest daughter of Bruce and his ex-wife Demi Moore, Rumer emphasized how the family has come together during this challenging time. “I’m so grateful for how our family has rallied together in this way. We don’t do it perfectly, but we’re always striving to continue to create connection and find ways to be with each other and support each other through something that is kind of unprecedented.”
When asked about how Bruce, known for his iconic role in Die Hard, was doing, Rumer responded thoughtfully. “It’s such a funny question because it’s like, he’s okay in the context of what his reality is. It will never be the same as it was of having a dad or how it is with my mother.”
In addition to Rumer, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis also have two other daughters: Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 32. Bruce later married Emma Heming Willis in 2009, and the couple had two more children: Mabel, 14, and Evelyn, 12. However, Bruce now lives separately from Emma and their children, receiving 24-hour care due to his degenerative condition.
Rumer has previously shared updates about her father’s condition, mentioning in November that there are times when he doesn’t remember who she is. “The truth is that anybody with FTD is not doing great,” she said on Instagram at the time. “But he’s doing okay in terms of somebody who’s dealing with frontotemporal dementia, you know what I mean?”
She continued, “The only way I feel like I could answer that in a way that’s like he’s doing great… How do I say this? It’s like those parameters don’t really work anymore in my mind, so this is an interesting question.”
Rumer added, “I’m so grateful that when I go over there and give him a hug, whether he recognizes 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 and so that feels really nice.”
Independent readers are independent-minded global citizens. They are not defined by traditional demographics or profiles, but by their attitudes. In today’s increasingly fragmented world, communities value real facts and frank opinions delivered first-hand from a non-biased news brand that they can trust. Armed with information and inspiration, Independent readers are empowered and equipped to take a stand for the things they believe in.
