Bruce Willis can ‘barely speak’ as his health takes a turn in tragic dementia battle
BRUCE Willis is now struggling to speak as a result of his ongoing dementia battle, according to reports.
The Hollywood actor, 68, whose family went public with his frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis earlier this year has retired from the spotlight and is being cared for by his nearest and dearest at home.
Writer and director Glenn Gordon Caron, who gave Bruce his big break in 80s sitcom Moonlighting, has now revealed heartbreaking details of the Die Hard legend’s current condition.
He told Page Six: “My sense is the first one to three minutes he knows who I am. He’s not totally verbal; he used to be a voracious reader – he didn’t want anyone to know that – and he’s not reading now.
“All those language skills are no longer available to him, and yet he’s still Bruce.
“When you’re with him you know that he’s Bruce and you’re grateful that he’s there, but the joie de vivre is gone.”
The news comes just weeks after Bruce was last pictured out in public.
In a rare sighting, Bruce was seen in a Range Rover in LA being driven by a pal.
The Armageddon favourite wound down the car window for a spot of fresh air and looked content people-watching as the car drove through the streets.
Bruce’s wife Emma, 45, recently became emotional while talking about the retired actor’s condition and being his caregiver during an appearance on the Today show.
She told host Hoda Kotb: “What I’m learning is that 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.”
The couple married in 2009 and have two daughters together – Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, nine.
She said: “The most important thing was to be able for us to say what the disease was, explain what it is.
“When you know what the disease is from a medical standpoint it sort of all makes sense.
‘So it was important that we let them know what it is because I don’t want there to be any stigma or shame attached to their dad’s diagnosis or for any form of dementia.”
When Hoda asked: “Does he know what’s going on? Is that something he’s aware of?” Emma paused before responding: “Hard to know.”
Emma, who appeared on the show to promote World Frontotemporal Dementia Awareness Week, went on to explain how she felt coming to terms with Bruce’s devastating diagnosis.
The mother-of-two said: “I think it was the blessing and the curse. You know, to sort of finally understand what was happening so that I can be into the acceptance of what is.”
Bruce also has three daughters, Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah, with his first wife, actress Demi Moore.
Bruce’s daughter Rumer, 34, whom he shares with Demi Moore, shared the heartbreaking news about her father’s diagnosis on Instagram.
In her post, she explained that Bruce’s condition was sadly “not treatable” and “has progressed”.
She said: “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.
“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.”
Meanwhile, his daughter Tallulah revealed the key dementia signs the family missed.
Tallulah said her dad’s symptoms “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.”
As Bruce’s unresponsiveness later “broadened”, Tallulah divulged she “sometimes took it personally”, saying in an essay penned for Vogue: “I thought he’d lost interest in me.”
“Though this couldn’t have been further from the truth, my adolescent brain tortured itself with some faulty maths: I’m not beautiful enough for my mother, I’m not interesting enough for my father.”