Bruce Willis has been seen out and about in Southern California, in what is a rare appearance since his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.
The Die Hard actor, 69, was pictured in the passenger’s seat of a vehicle peering into the wing mirror as he took a trip with security guards, wearing a black cap and white buttoned-up top with light stripes.
Following his 2023 diagnosis, Bruce took a step back from the spotlight to focus on his health, with his wife Emma Heming Willis offering updates, and his ex-wife Demi Moore sticking around to support their blended family.
Despite their 1998 divorce, Bruce and Emma have remained close, raising their children and now grandchildren together, and she also has a good relationship with Emma and her own daughters.
Bruce has five children – Mabel Ray, 12, and Evelyn, 10, with wife Emma, 46; and Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 30, with ex-wife Demi, 61.
Since his initial aphasia and subsequent frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, Bruce’s family have given fans sporadic updates on how he’s getting on.
In March earlier this year, the family celebrated Bruce’s birthday and took to social media to share messages with fans.
Demi shared a picture of her sitting on the sofa next to him, and wrote: ‘Happy birthday, BW! We love you and are so grateful for you.’
Emma, meanwhile, wrote a heartfelt post about how much he meant to her, addressing his fans as she wrote ‘just like you, we simply adore him’.
She continued: ‘What you might not know, but maybe you could imagine, that being wrapped in his arms is the safest place in this whole wide world.’
‘Happy Birthday my love. You are the gift that keeps giving.’
In that same month Emma was forced to hit back at claims the Armageddon actor had ‘no more joy’ in life left.
She said: ‘It’s Sunday morning and I’m triggered. I just got clickbaited. I’m just scrolling, minding my own business, and just saw a headline – and got clickbaited – that had to do with my own family.
‘The headline basically says there is no more joy in my husband. Now I can just tell you that is far from the truth. I need society, and whoever is writing these stupid headlines, to stop scaring people.’
She continued: ‘[People will think] once they get a diagnosis of some kind of neuro-cognitive disease that that’s it, it’s over. Let’s pack it up. Nothing else to see here. We’re done. No, it is the complete opposite.’
In October Bruce’s longtime friend and Moonlighting director Glenn Gordon Caron shared an update on the actor’s health revealing he is no longer ‘totally verbal’ or able to read, but he is ‘still Bruce’.
Bruce retired from acting in 2022 after being told he had aphasia, which is classed as an inability to comprehend language because of damage to specific brain regions.
In February the following year, Bruce’s family announced he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) – the second most common form of the disease after Alzheimer’s.
There are currently no treatments for the condition.
After the diagnosis Emma – a British-American former model – also explained what life was like caring for her husband.
She said: ‘There is grief and sadness, there’s all of that. But you start a new chapter, and that chapter is filled with love, it’s filled with connection, it’s filled with joy and happiness. That’s where we are.’
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
