shared an upside to watching her father go through the .
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Rumer Willis Finds Silver Lining in Dads Dementia
Rumer Willis shared an upside to watching her father Bruce Willis go through the difficult and devastating battle with dementia.The 37-year-old actress, who is ...
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The 37-year-old actress, who is the eldest out of the film legend's five daughters, said that she gets to see a different side of him that she had never seen in the past.
'I'm so grateful I get to go see him,' she told The Inside Edit on Monday about her relationship with her dad post-diagnoses. 'Even though it's different now, I'm so grateful.'
About his personality now and a particular trait he developed, Rumer — who welcomed her daughter Louetta, whom Willis became a grandfather to in April 2023 —
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She explained: 'He's always been this kind of macho dude and there's like a — fragile is not the right word but — just a tenderness that maybe being Bruce Willis might not have allowed him in a certain way.'
Willis, 71, was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in early 2023, which followed an initial diagnosis of aphasia, a language processing disorder, in 2022.
Rumer Willis said there is an upside to her father Bruce Willis's heartbreaking dementia battle
During a podcast interview, she opened up about their relationship and the difficult battle with the progressive neurological disease; pictured in April
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During the on-camera interview, Rumer admitted that she 'had no idea' how 'prevalent' the progressive neurological disease is until her father received his diagnosis.
'It's wild to me,' Rumer shared. 'So many people come up to me now and they say, "My uncle had FTD. My dad had this."'
She said her father was always a 'macho guy,' but now she gets to experience a 'tenderness' and 'sweetness'
'There's a sweetness,' she said about her father now
'He's always been this kind of macho dude and there's like a — fragile is not the right word but — just a tenderness that maybe being Bruce Willis might not have allowed him in a certain way,' she explained
She added that 'even though it's different now,' she is still 'so grateful' for him and to be able to spend time with him
The actor shares daughters Rumer, Scout (not pictured) and Tallulah, 32, with his ex-wife Demi Moore. He is also father to two daughters from his current marriage to Emma Heming Willis (not pictured); pictured in July 2018
During the on-camera interview, Rumer also admitted that she 'had no idea' how 'prevalent' the progressive neurological disease is until her father received his diagnosis in 2023
'For people under 60, FTD is the most common form of dementia, and because getting the diagnosis can take years, FTD is likely much more prevalent than we know.'
His family also noted that Willis 'would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families.'
