Tallulah Willis Details "Painful Days" in Bruce Willis' Health Battle
Originally appeared on E! Online
Tallulah Willis is appreciating the time she has with her father Bruce Willis.
The 30-year-old, the youngest of Bruce and ex-wife Demi Moore’s three daughters, shared insight into how the Die Hard star is doing amid his battle with frontotemporal dementia and why his health battle has helped make her more present.
“He’s doing stable, which in this situation is good, and it’s hard,” Tallulah explained on the Today show on Sept. 18. “There’s painful days, but there’s so much love. And it’s really shown me to not take any moment for granted.”
Referencing her 2023 Vogue essay where she shared that she felt she and her father would be “best friends” if they had more time outside of his disease, she reiterated, “I really do think that we’d be best friends. I think he’s very proud of me.”
In the more than two years since Tallulah’s blended family—which includes mom Demi, sisters Rumer Willis, 35, and Scout Willis, 32, as well as stepmom Emma Heming Willis and youngest sisters Mabel Willis, 12, and Evelyn Willis, 10—shared Bruce’s diagnosis, she has often spoken out with updates about her dad and how their family has navigated his illness.
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"Our visits have so much love and I feel that,” she told E! News last month, “and that overarches anything for me—being able to have that connection."
"I know he knows how much I love him," she continued. "I know how much he loves me. I know how much he loves all of us."
Moore also opened up about the advice she gives to her children about their father during a Sept. 13 interview on The Drew Barrymore Show.
"Given the givens, he’s in a stable place," she said of her ex. "You know what I say to my kids is you meet them where they’re at. You don’t hold onto who they were or who you want them to be, but who they are in this moment."
For more on Bruce’s blended family, read on.
Bruce's 69th Birthday
"Oh Daddio, to be loved by you is such a gift," Rumer Willis wrote in an Instagram tribute to her father in March 2024. "You are the funniest, most tender, charming, out of this world silly talented and magical papa. Looking through these photos this morning I am just filled with the deepest gratitude that we chose to spend this life together. I am your first baby and man sometimes I wish I could be tiny enough to just cozy up on your chest again and laugh and cuddle you."
She continued, "I love you so deep in my bones I don’t know how my muscles hold them. You are the greatest papa I could ever hope for. Thank you for your generosity, your silliness and heart. Lou loves you so big. Happy Birthday Daddio."
Valentine's Day 2024
Love is a beautiful thing," the actor's wife Emma Heming Willis wrote on Instagram, almost exactly one year after his family announced his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis. "Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day."
Tallulah Willis' 30th Birthday Celebration
In February 2024, Demi Moore shared this pic of her ex-husband with the youngest of the three daughters they share together, writing, "Showering our @buuski with love today on her 30th birthday."
"Grateful and Thankful"
In November 2023, the actor celebrated his first Thanksgiving since being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia earlier that year. His wife Emma shared this photo from Bruce's 68th birthday party from March.
"I’m grateful and thankful to know this kind of love," she wrote. "Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving."
Blended Family
Bruce Willis stepped out with Emma to celebrate the release of Demi's 2019 memoir Inside Out. He is joined by his three daughters with the G.I. Jane actress, Rumer Willis, Scout Willis and Tallulah Willis.
Adventure Is Out There
Bruce and Emma appear on a hike with their daughters Evelyn Willis and Mabel Willis.
All Smiles
The actor posed with his ex-wife and their daughters Rumer and Tallulah backstage at his Comedy Central roast in 2018.
Three Generations
Bruce became a grandpa in April 2023 when Rumer welcomed a baby girl named Louetta.
Newest Addition
The entire family got together to celebrate the birth of Rumer's baby.
Backstage Buddies
Bruce had two special vistors when he starred in Broadway's Misery in 2016.
Broadway Bunch
The family showed up in full force to support Rumer's 2015 Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago.
Feeling Festive
"I put my camera on a ladder, set the timer, and crossed my fingers," Emma captioned this family Christmas photo. "Now that’s 2020 for you."
Movie Date
Bruce took his three oldest daughters to the Over the Hedge premiere in 2006.
Sweet Kisses
The dad of five shared a sweet moment with daughter Mabel.
Daddy's Girls
Tallulah, Scout and Rumer joined their dad at a Bruce Willis Charity Foundation in 2005.
Dancing With the Fam
The family celebrated Rumer's Dancing With the Stars win with Val Chmerkovskiy.
Polaroid Memories
"What a privilege it is every day to be your daughter," Rumer captioned this throwback photo. "I love you so much. You are the coolest cat in town."
A Birthday to Remember
Emma rang in her 43rd birthday in 2021 with Bruce and their daughters, as well as Rumer and Demi.
'Tis the Season
The family spent Christmas 2022 together.
Star Status
Bruce was joined by mom Marlene and his three oldest daughters when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006.
Happy Haunts
The action star dressed up with Mabel and Evelyn on Halloween 2021.
Getting Silly
Tallulah jokingly captioned this photo of herself and dad Bruce making silly faces, "high drama club."
Snow Squad
Evelyn and Mabel hit the slopes during a family ski trip.
Gang's All Here
The family, including Demi's then-husband Ashton Kutcher, stepped out to watch Rumer in 2008's The House Bunny.