Tallulah Willis on coping with dad Bruce Willis' dementia: 'Something was wrong for a long time'
Tallulah Willis is opening up about how she's coping with father Bruce Willis' dementia.
Willis, the youngest of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's three daughters (including Rumer, 34, and Scout, 31), gets candid about life following her father's diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia in an essay for Vogue magazine published Wednesday. Despite the actor’s diagnosis earlier this year, Willis reveals she’s "known that something was wrong for a long time."
"It started out with a kind of vague unresponsiveness, which the family chalked up to Hollywood hearing loss: 'Speak up! 'Die Hard' messed with Dad’s ears,' " Willis writes. "Later that unresponsiveness broadened, and I sometimes took it personally."
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Willis says she initially thought her father had "lost interest" in her after having two daughters (Mabel Ray, 11, and Evelyn Penn, 9) with wife Emma Heming. "Though this couldn’t have been further from the truth, my adolescent brain tortured itself with some faulty math: I’m not beautiful enough for my mother, I’m not interesting enough for my father," she says.
The 29-year-old says she struggled to accept Bruce's worsening condition due to the turmoil of her four-year battle with anorexia nervosa.
"I admit that I have met Bruce's decline in recent years with a share of avoidance and denial that I’m not proud of," Willis says. "The truth is that I was too sick myself to handle it. … While I was wrapped up in my body dysmorphia, flaunting it on Instagram, my dad was quietly struggling."
Willis says she was forced to confront the reality of her father’s illness and its impact on her life while attending a wedding in the summer of 2021.
"The bride’s father made a moving speech. Suddenly I realized that I would never get that moment, my dad speaking about me in adulthood at my wedding," Willis says. "It was devastating. I left the dinner table, stepped outside and wept in the bushes."
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Now in recovery from her eating disorder, Willis says she's able to approach her relationship with her father with a healthier perspective.
"I now have the tools to be present in all facets of my life, and especially in my relationship with my dad," Willis says. "I can bring him an energy that’s bright and sunny, no matter where I’ve been. In the past I was so afraid of being destroyed by sadness, but finally I feel that I can show up and be relied upon.
"I can savor that time, hold my dad’s hand, and feel that it’s wonderful. I know that trials are looming, that this is the beginning of grief, but that whole thing about loving yourself before you can love somebody else — it’s real."
If you or someone you know is struggling with body image or eating concerns, the National Eating Disorders Association's toll-free and confidential helpline is available by phone or text at 1-800-931-2237 or by click-to-chat message at nationaleatingdisorders.org/helpline. For 24/7 crisis situations, text "NEDA" to 741-741.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tallulah Willis pens essay on father Bruce Willis' dementia diagnosis