Bruce Willis was surrounded by love in a rare photo of the actor as his battle against frontotemporal dementia continues.
Bruce, 70, sat in between daughters Scout Willis, 34, and Tallulah Willis, 31, in the picture, which was posted by Scout via Instagram on Thursday, September 18. Bruce wore a gray shirt with a black sweatshirt and black pants and flashed a smile as his kids wrapped their arms around him while sitting together on an outdoor couch.
“GREAT to see your father smiling! Hope he’s doing well 
,” one person commented underneath the post, as a second person said, “The most precious family!!! it warms my heart to see
.”
Bruce’s family first announced he was diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder, in March 2022. They revealed his condition had progressed to frontotemporal dementia, which impacts language and behavior, in February 2023.
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“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,” his family shared in a statement at the time.
Emma Heming Willis, Bruce’s wife, revealed that her husband had moved into a separate home with a full-time care team during an August ABC special with Diane Sawyer. The second property is located near the home Heming Willis primarily lives in with her and Bruce’s daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11. (Bruce shares older daughters Rumer, 37, Tallulah and Scout with ex-wife Demi Moore.)
“It was one of the hardest decisions that I’ve had to make so far,” Heming Willis, 49, explained during the special. “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.”
Additionally, she opened up about the living arrangement in her book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, which is out now.
“The truth is, Mabel and Evelyn’s daily lives were being turned upside down,” Heming Willis explained about the impact of Bruce’s diagnosis on her kids. “For example, with FTD and other forms of dementia, some people become more sensitive to noise, which can cause distraction, confusion, and agitation. So I had everyone tiptoeing around the house to keep it as peaceful and serene as possible. This meant playdates were obsolete and forget about sleepovers.”
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Heming Willis explained that she was “starting to isolate” her kids “from having their own lives.” Ultimately, she felt that Bruce would want his daughters to grow up in an environment where they were free to express themselves, make noise and simply, be kids.
“I realized I was creating an environment he never would have wanted, and this made me feel awful for all of us,” she said. “I know his values, what’s important to him, and that his five daughters always came first. Anyone who knows Bruce knows that his love for his girls was unwavering, and he cared deeply about their happiness and well-being.”
