Bruce Willis’ family isn’t sure how much longer they have with the retired actor amid his worsening battle with frontotemporal dementia. He first revealed problems with his health when he announced in 2022 that he was retiring from acting following an aphasia diagnosis. Aphasia is a brain disorder that affects a person’s understanding of language and communication skills, according to John Hopkins Medicine. Less than a year later is when he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, and now it seems to be at a worrisome point.
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The insider said the disease has progressed.
Exclusively speaking to In Touch, the source said that the retired actor’s “disease has progressed to the point where his family worries they may not have much more time with Bruce left.” He added that they also have concerns if he’ll live to see another year. “They wonder whether he’ll even make it to his 70th birthday.”
Time is 'weighing' on them.
Bruce’s family consists of his current wife and caretaker, 46-year-old Emma Heming Willis, and their daughters: Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10. He also has his ex-wife, 61-year-old actress Demi Moore, with whom he shares daughters Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 30. All members of the blended family have been actively by his side throughout this journey. The source says that how much time they have left with him “is always weighing on their minds.”
They're prioritizing Bruce's safety.
“He rarely goes out, but when he does it’s a carefully orchestrated operation. He needs help getting ready and getting to the car,” the insider explained. They also revealed that he has caretakers with him “24/7 who supervise him and make sure he’s OK and doesn’t get confused or flustered,” and that Bruce “has bodyguards to buffer him from the public.”
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A 'heartbreaking' sight.
“It’s heartbreaking for the family to see him so vulnerable and dependent,” the source shared. “The Bruce they remember used to be full of energy and masculine pride. Now he seems helpless.”
His condition has progressed to the point where he’s unable to recognize certain people in his life and he’s not “totally verbal” as reported by People in 2023.
Glenn Gordon Caron spoke out about his friend's condition last year.
Glenn Gordon Caron, creator of the TV show Moonlighting, which gave Bruce his breakout role in the 1980s, further talked about his friend’s condition in a 2023 interview with the New York Post. “The thing that makes [his disease] so mind-blowing is [that] if you’ve ever spent time with Bruce Willis, there is no one who had any more joie de vivre than he. He loved life and … just adored waking up every morning and trying to live life to its fullest.”
