Rumer Willis, the eldest of Bruce Willis’ five daughters, opened up about the challenges of talking about her father’s frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
In a Nov. 21 “Ask Me Anything” Q&A shared on her Instagram Stories, Rumer answered questions about motherhood and family life, providing a brief insight into her current relationship with her dad, who was diagnosed with aphasia in March 2022. In 2023, his family revealed his condition had progressed to FTD.
“People always ask me [about my dad] and I think it’s kind of a hard one to answer because the truth is that anybody with FTD is not doing great,” Rumer said.
“But he’s doing okay in terms of somebody who’s dealing with frontotemporal dementia, you know what I mean?” she added.
“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?” she continued. “It’s like those parameters don’t really work anymore in my mind, so this is an interesting question.”
In a follow-up story, Rumer elaborated on those parameters surrounding her father’s condition. “The answer that I would give is that 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 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.”
Rumer shared that she’s happy that Bruce developed a relationship with her daughter, Louetta Willis, whom she shares with ex, musician Derek Thomas.
“I just feel grateful that I get to go over there with Lou and we get to spend time with him and I get to feel the love that he has for me and that he puts out for me and that I can love him and be with him,” she said.
Rumer is the eldest of Bruce’s five daughters. Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, from his relationship with his ex-wife, Demi Moore. Bruce also has two daughters with his wife, Emma Heming Willis: Mabel Ray, 13, and Evelyn Penn, 11.
Bruce’s family has been very forthcoming about the difficulties of living with his condition. In an August 2025 ABC special, Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey, his wife revealed that while his brain is “failing him,” the Die Hard actor is in “really great health overall.”
Like Rumer, Emma shared that there are great challenges in living with Bruce’s condition, but that makes the good moments more special. “You know, sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk, and, you know, I just get, like, transported,” she said. “And it’s just hard to see, because as quickly as those moments appear, then it goes. It’s hard. But I’m grateful. I’m grateful that my husband is still very much here.”
Cheers to Bruce Willis! I’m definitely queuing up Die Hard for the holiday season.
