Bruce Willis’ Family Thought He Had “Hollywood Hearing Loss” Before Dementia Diagnosis

Tallulah Willis — the youngest daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore — emotionally opened up about coming to terms with her father’s dementia in a candid essay she wrote for Vogue.

In March 2022, Bruce retired from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia — which Tallulah described as “a brain-mediated inability to speak or to understand speech.” In February of this year, the family learned that this condition was a symptom of frontotemporal dementia.

“I’ve known that something was wrong for a long time,” she wrote in the essay. “It 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.’”

She continued, “Later that unresponsiveness broadened, and I sometimes took it personally,” admitting that she thought her father had “lost interest” in her after having two babies with his second wife, Emma Heming Willis.

The 29-year-old actress confessed to meeting Bruce’s “decline” with “avoidance and denial” as she was “too sick” herself to “handle it” after suffering from anorexia nervosa. She also sought treatment following her failed engagement in June 2022, when she was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder.

Tallulah said she was finally able to be there for her dad after leaving treatment in October of that year, which made her feel “a lot better.”

“I know that trials are looming, that this is the beginning of grief, but that whole thing about loving yourself before you can love somebody else — it’s real,” she wrote.

Tallulah later detailed how she spends her time with Bruce — who she said “still knows” who she is and “lights up” when she enters the room.

“Every time I go to my dad’s house, I take tons of photos—of whatever I see, the state of things. I’m like an archaeologist, searching for treasure in stuff that I never used to pay much attention to,” she explained. “I have every voicemail from him saved on a hard drive. I find that I’m trying to document, to build a record for the day when he isn’t there to remind me of him and of us.”

Speaking of her sister Rumer Willis recently having a baby — thus making Demi and Bruce grandparents — Tallulah concluded the essay on a positive note.

“There’s this little creature changing by the hour, and there’s this thing happening with my dad that can shift so quickly and unpredictably,” she said. “It feels like a unique and special time in my family, and I’m just so glad to be here for it.”