Sunday’s Father’s Day tributes have come in all shapes and sizes. Some are happy and joyous, others are bittersweet or full of longing because of a relationship that never materialized or one that has been lost due to circumstances beyond one’s control. Probably the most difficult to read are the ones of those who have recently lost their fathers. But in the case of the daughter and wife of “Die Hard” actor Bruce Willis, the grief is cumulative, because the father and husband they love is still alive, but who he was, his essence, his connection to the world is quickly fading due to his dementia diagnosis.
On Sunday, Willis’ oldest daughter Rumer posted a moving tribute to her father on her Instagram.
Rumer Willis gives heartbreaking update on dad Bruce’s dementia battle on Father’s Day 2025: ‘I feel a deep ache’ https://t.co/gEaC3UHfwB pic.twitter.com/S80sfHDi9W
— Page Six (@PageSix) June 15, 2025
Rumer Willis gave an update on her father Bruce Willis’ battle with dementia in a heart-wrenching Father’s Day tribute.
“Today is hard, I feel a deep ache in my chest to talk to you and tell you everything I’m doing and what’s going on in my life,” she wrote via Instagram Sunday.
“To hug you and ask you about life and your stories and struggles and successes. I wish I asked you more questions while you could still tell me about it all,” Rumer continued, suggesting he was having trouble with his speech and memory.
In 2022, Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia and announced that he was retiring from acting. In 2023, it was revealed that Willis had been further diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a degenerative brain disease for which there is no cure. Willis’ ex, actress Demi Moore, their three daughters, and Willis’ new wife Emma Heming and their two daughters have formed a protective and supportive unit around the ailing Willis as they attend to his care.
“But I know you wouldn’t want me to be sad today so I’ll try to just be grateful reminding myself how lucky I am that you’re my dad and that you’re still with me,” she added.
“I can still hold you and hug you and kiss your cheek and rub your head I can tell you stories.”
The 36-year-old actress gushed over how the “Die Hard” star’s ”eyes light up” when he sees her 2-year-old daughter, Louetta, whom she shares with her ex Derek Richard Thomas.
Emma Heming also shared her pain, regret, and sadness over seeing her beloved husband fade away.
In a post shared on Sunday (15 June), Heming shared a picture of their daughter, Evelyn, 11, hugging her father, who is looking away from the camera wearing a baseball cap.
The model and dementia campaigner dedicated the post to fathers living with disability or disease, writing: “What Bruce teaches our girls goes far beyond words. Resilience, unconditional love, and the quiet strength in simply being present.”
“This photo says so much. Love deepens. It adapts. It stays, even when everything else changes.”
Heming admitted that she was feeling “profoundly sad” on Father’s Day, adding: “These symbolic days stir up a lot. I wish, with every cell in my body, that things could be different for him and lighter for our family.”
“As they say in our FTD community, ‘It is what it is.’ And while that might sound dismissive, to me, it’s not. It grounds me. It helps me return to the acceptance of what is and not fight this every step of the way like I used to,” she concluded.
Rumer further wrote on her Instagram, “We’re all so close, I think what’s so beautiful is the way that we rally around each other is so lovely because we really are a unit.”
We read much about the disastrous families and relationships that come out of Hollywood and how a star’s illness often brings out the worst in everyone they have surrounded themselves with. It is a testament to Bruce Willis that his entire family is binding together and committed to ensuring Willis’ progressive disease and his final days are filled with as much love, comfort, and community as he can handle.
Bruce Willis’ daughter shares touching moment with her dad
— Kevin W. (@Brink_Thinker) June 11, 2025
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