Tallulah Willis gave insight about Bruce Willis’ ongoing battle with aphasia more than one year after the legendary actor was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
The youngest daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis detailed her own health journey during a sit-down with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager on the “Today” show before updating fans on the “Die Hard” actor’s health.
Kotb was moved by a quote Tallulah shared with Vogue earlier this year when she said, “I’ve always recognized elements of his personality in me, and I just know that we’d be such good friends if only there were more time.”
BRUCE WILLIS’ DAUGHTER TALLULAH GIVES UPDATE ON HIS ‘PAINFUL’ DEMENTIA BATTLE
“He’s doing stable, which in this situation is good. It’s hard,” Tallulah admitted of Bruce’s health. “There’s painful days, but there’s so much love, and it’s really shown me to not take any moment for granted. I really do think that we’d be best friends. I think he’s very proud of me.”
Hager noted, “When you see him, you can’t be thinking about what was or what you hoped it would be.”
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Tallulah agreed, “You have to be in the moment. You have to be present.”
Bruce, 69, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in February 2023, shortly after he received an aphasia diagnosis the year before.
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FTD is “the result of damage to neurons in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain,” according to the National Institute on Aging. “Many possible symptoms can result, including unusual behaviors, emotional problems, trouble communicating, difficulty with work, or difficulty with walking.”
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He married Emma Heming at their home in Turks and Caicos in March 2009, and the couple has two daughters, Mabel and Evelyn. The actor was previously married to Moore for 12 years, and the friendly exes have three daughters together: Rumer, Scout and Tallulah.
Tallulah, 30, revealed earlier this year that she was diagnosed with autism as an adult. She admitted she “had no idea” what kind of impact she would have by sharing her diagnosis on social media.
“I didn’t know it would have this scale that it did,” she said. “I was misdiagnosed for many years, so only at 29 got my diagnosis, which is very common, specifically for adult women.”
She added, “So, it’s all very new for me. It’s only been in the last year that I’m learning what the terms are and regulating. I’m very high-functioning autistic, and my struggles are more in sensory, so being very sensitive to the world, rather than, more commonly, people think it’s communication.”
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Finding out her diagnosis was “very emotional,” but Tallulah also felt a sense of “relief” for being able to find an answer to her health-related questions.
“If I’m being honest, I really hated myself and I thought I was very broken, so to learn that the elements of my self that I felt were malodies or wrong, or just too much for this world are actually OK, and they just require maybe a little bit more tools,” she said.
“And it gave me more grace for myself and, as well as I think, my family, and other people hopefully, who learn about this, just to be a little more gentle and compassionate with themselves.”
She’s been candid about her diagnosis, knowing her voice may be able to help others in need.
“I’ve had eyes on me since I was a baby, so it was very important to me to utilize that platform to talk about it,” she said. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to talk about it or exactly what way it came from, but I always knew I felt a responsibility to really make that mean something. There are so many people who I think are similar to me who are struggling.”
