Bruce Willis was recently honored with a charity concert event, organized by his wife Emma Heming Willis and ex-wife Demi Moore. The star-studded fundraiser for the nonprofit Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration saw the attendance of guests like Whoopi Goldberg, Kevin Bacon, and his wife, Kyra Sedgwick, Michael J. Fox and his wife, Tracy Pollan, and others.
Fans were devastated to hear in February 2023 that Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Since the diagnosis, his friends and family have been supporting the Die Hard actor. Moore shared photos of the charity event on her Instagram, writing in the captions, “Celebrating Bruce with all the things he loves — family, friends, and music.”
She also thanked Heming Willis in her post for bringing together the event. Ahead of the show, Heming Willis told PEOPLE that Willis would have loved the event. She shared that he would have been excited to see all his friends at the event. She shared:
Bruce would have loved this. He always loved live music. [He’d be excited to see] all of them, because all of them are, you know, his friends. I think that he would’ve definitely got up there and started playing his harmonica. I’m just grateful that they would show up for this. But they also have their special relationship with Bruce.
She further addressed the crowd at the event, sharing that Willis was there with them in spirit. She shared:
I just wanna say first thank you all for being here. This is incredible, and I love what you guys are doing here at the Soho [Sessions] to be able to raise awareness for frontotemporal dementia. This is gonna bring all of Bruce’s friends and family together. So thank you for being here. I honestly wish Bruce could be here, but he’s here in spirit.
Willis was married to Moore from 1987 to 2000, and they share three daughters: Rumer Willis, Scout Willis, and Tallulah Willis. The Stakeout actor married his wife Emma Heming Willis in 2009, and the couple has two daughters, Mabel and Evelyn.
Emma Heming Willis’s Heartbreaking Decision Amidst Bruce Willis’s Dementia Diagnosis
In a recent interview with ABC News, Emma Heming Willis shared “one of the hardest decisions” she had to take. She shared that she had to arrange for Bruce Willis to live full-time in a nearby “second home.” She shared that she had to make that choice for the family, adding that Willis would have wanted the same for his daughters. She shared:
But I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters. You know, he would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.
She defended her move during her interview with The Sunday Times, sharing, “But among the sadness and discomfort, it was the right move — for him, for our girls, for me. Ultimately, I could get back to being his wife. And that’s such a gift.” During her interview with ABC, she shared an update on Willis’s health. She shared:
Bruce is in really great health overall, you know. It’s just his brain that is failing him. The language is going, and, you know, we’ve learned to adapt. And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different, a different way.
When Willis received his diagnosis, Heming Willis wished that there was support out there. She shared with PEOPLE, “I know that when we received our diagnosis, we were left with nothing, really; no roadmap, no support, nothing.” Willis was seen on a rare public outing in LA, when Heming Willis and Moore appeared at the charity event (via RadarOnline).
A post shared by Emma Heming Willis (@emmahemingwillis)
According to AFTD, frontotemporal dementia, also known as Pick’s disease, is the most common form of dementia affecting patients younger than 60 years old. The symptoms show up and progress from two years to two decades. The life expectancy for patients is between seven and thirteen years from when the symptoms surface.
Bruce Willis’s Dementia Diagnosis: A Complete Timeline
March 2022: Willis’s family first released a statement, announcing that he had been diagnosed with aphasia. The condition made his language skills and communication difficult. They also announced his retirement from acting due to the impact the condition had on his cognitive abilities.
February 2023: Willis’s family released another statement where they explained that his aphasia had progressed into frontotemporal dementia (via AFTD). The statement read:
Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD). Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.
September 2023: Emma Heming Willis appeared on TODAY for World FTD Awareness Week. In her first interview since her husband’s diagnosis, Heming Willis talked about caregiving and Willis’s health. She shared:
Dementia is hard. It’s hard on the person diagnosed, it’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say this is a family disease, it really is.
When asked if Willis knew about his diagnosis, Heming Willis shared that “it’s hard to know.”
November 2023: Tallulah Willis shared with Drew Barrymore that her dad’s condition was “really aggressive”. She shared that he was still the same, which she shared was the “best thing” the family could ask for, considering the situation.
March 19, 2024: Demi Moore posted a picture of her sitting beside Willis on his 69th birthday. She wrote in the Instagram post, “Happy birthday, BW! We love you and are so grateful for you.”
Rumer Willis also shared snaps with her dad for his birthday. She wrote in the carousel post, “You are the funniest, most tender, charming, out of this world silly talented and magical papa.”
September 18, 2024: Tallulah Willis appeared on TODAY to reflect on her father’s condition. She shared that the actor was “doing stable” but added, “There’s painful days, but there’s so much love.”
October 2024: Emma Heming Willis opened up about the actor’s first signs of dementia during an interview with Town & Country. She shared that she first noticed something wrong when the Moonlighting actor’s language changed. She shared that even when it happened, the actor remained the same. She added that they never suspected dementia at that point.
His condition was revealed only a few years later. She shared about Willis’ condition, “I say that FTD whispers, it doesn’t shout. It’s hard for me to say, ‘This is where Bruce ended, and this is where his disease started to take over.’” While frontotemporal dementia is more prevalent among masses, the symptoms take some time to surface, making it hard to detect it early.
December 5, 2024: Demi Moore shared with CNN that Willis is in a “very stable place at the moment”. She shared with the outlet:
He’s in a very stable place at the moment. I’ve shared this before, but I really mean this so sincerely — it’s so important for anybody who’s dealing with this to really meet them where they’re at.
August 2025: Heming Willis gave a major update on his condition, sharing that he was in “great health overall” but that it was his brain that was failing him. She further shared that she made the tough decision to move him out of the house and into a second home where he would receive around-the-clock care.
November 2025: Heming Willis and Moore organize a charity event to honor Willis.
What do you think of Willis’s current health update? Let us know in the comments below!
