Demi Moore has spoken out about the struggles of watching someone battle dementia. A little over a year ago, Bruce Willis – Moore’s ex-husband – was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, a heartbreaking disease that has since affected not only the star himself but also everyone around him. Demi Moore and his second wife, Emma Heming Willis, were hit particularly hard. In a recent interview with Andy Cohen, Moore stated that the best advice she could give to the families of other dementia patients would be “stay in the present” and “let go” of who they once were.
Demi Moore Gives Advice to Families of Dementia Patients As Bruce Willis Struggles
Ghost alum Demi Moore, 61, and Die Hard star Bruce Willis, 68, were married in 1987. The pair would have three daughters together – Rumer Glenn, Scout LaRue, and Tallulah Belle – before divorcing in 2000. Despite their divorce, the pair would remain close, with Willis attending Moore’s wedding to Ashton Kutcher in 2005 and Moore returning the favor when he married model Emma Heming in 2009. In March 2022, Willis’ family announced that he would be retiring from acting, and in February 2023, it was announced that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
Now, a little over a year after her ex-husband was diagnosed, Demi Moore sat down with Andy Cohen to discuss how she’s been dealing with the whole thing. When asked if she had any advice for other family members in a similar situation to her, Moore said that the “most important” piece of advice she could give to family members of dementia patients would be to meet their loved ones where they’re at, rather than trying to pull them back to where they were before the disease, according to OK Magazine.
When you let go of who they’ve been or who you think, or even who you would like them to be, you can then really stay in the present and take in the joy and the love that is present and there for all that they are — not all that they’re not.”
Demi Moore
Additionally, Bruce Willis’ second wife, Emma Heming Willis, has stated that she “struggles with guilt” about having access to resources most people don’t have, citing the “untold, unheard” stories who are equally deserving of “compassion and concern.” aBoth Demi Moore and Emma Heming Willis have made great strides toward raising awareness about dementia and raising money toward further dementia research. They’ve also been vocal about how grateful they are for the community of support that’s formed around Bruce Willis in the last year.
