Since stepping away from the spotlight due to health issues, Bruce Willis’ family has regularly shared updates about the actor’s wellbeing.

In March 2022, Willis was diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that makes it writing and speaking difficult. A year later, the family announced the “Die Hard” star’s condition had progressed and he’d been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, or FTD. This degenerative disease primarily affects communication and behavior, as opposed to memory, like other types of dementia. 

It all began when Willis’ speech patterns changed, his wife, Emma Heming Willis, told Town & Country in Oct. 2024. Since Willis had a childhood stutter, however, Heming Willis chalked the change in his language up to that.

“As his language started changing, it (seemed like it) was just a part of a stutter, it was just Bruce. Never in a million years would I think it would be a form of dementia for someone so young,” she said.

It would be a few more years before doctors could offer Willis and his family a definitive diagnosis.

“I say that FTD whispers, it doesn’t shout. It’s hard for me to say, ‘This is where Bruce ended, and this is where his disease started to take over,’” she added.

Frontotemporal dementia is the most common type of dementia in people under 60. Ahead, discover what the Willis family has shared about the actor’s health.

Bruce Willis Health Update

In Aug. 2025, Heming Willis offered an update on Willis' health during a conversation with ABC's Diane Sawyer.

“Bruce is still very mobile. Bruce is in really great health overall, it’s just his brain that is failing him,” Heming Willis said in an excerpt released ahead of the ABC special. “It’s just his brain that is failing him.”

There are times, however, when she'll see the man Willis was before his diagnosis. “...We get moments,” Heming Willis said. “It’s his laugh, right? He has such a hearty laugh. And sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk, and I just get transported. And it’s just hard to see that because as quickly as those moments appear, then it goes. It’s hard, but I’m grateful that my husband is still very much here.”

While rumors have circulated about the direness of Willis' condition, in July 2025, his wife responded to speculation that his health is declining.

“To Whom It May Concern: If you ever come across a story that begins with ‘sources close to the family say...,’ do yourself a favor and stop reading,” Heming Willis posted on her Instagram Stories on July 26, 2025.

“And to any outlet that runs with those kinds of stories, do better. Giving a platform to anonymous speculation is not only careless, it’s harmful. Onward,” she added.

Bruce Willis’ health is “stable” since being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, his family has shared.

Appearing on CNN Dec. 5, 2024, Demi Moore, his ex-wife, shared an update on his health.

"He's in a very stable place at the moment," she said. "I've shared this before, but I really mean this so sincerely — it's so important for anybody who's dealing with this to really meet them where they're at."

Tallulah Willis, his youngest daughter with Moore, appeared on TODAY on Sept. 18, 2024, and reflected on some of the more difficult aspects of her father’s condition.

“He’s doing stable, which, in this situation, is good and is hard,” the 30-year-old said. “There’s painful days, but there’s so much love.”

“It’s really shown me to not take any moment for granted, and I really do think that we’d be best friends,” Tallulah Willis continued. “I think he’s very proud of me. You have to be in the moment. You have to be present.”

In November 2023, Tallulah Willis shared an update on her dad’s condition on “The Drew Barrymore Show." She described Bruce Willis’ dementia as “really aggressive," adding, "He is the same, which, I think, in this regard, I’ve learned is the best thing you can ask for."

During a September 2023 appearance on TODAY, Heming Willis spoke about caregiving and how Willis was doing for World FTD Awareness Week. It was her first interview since his diagnosis was made public. In September 2025, she'll release a book about caregiving and how's she's found strength during this time.

“Dementia is hard,” Heming Willis said in 2023. “It’s hard on the person diagnosed, it’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say this is a family disease, it really is.” (She and Bruce Willis share two daughters, Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10.)

Asked if her husband was aware of what’s going on with his health, Heming Willis replied, “It’s hard to know.”

She added that accepting his diagnosis has been “painful, but ... just being in the know of what is happening to Bruce makes it a little easier.”

Since then, Bruce Willis' family has continued to share photos, memories and updates about the actor.

Willis celebrated his 70th birthday in March 2025 with his daughters, granddaughter, ex-wife, Demi Moore, and wife, Emma Heming Willis by his side.

Moore shared a series of photos from the day. And Heming Willis shared a photo of the actor asking fans to celebrate him in the comments. “...Flood him with all the love today, he will feel it, I swear he will. You are one powerful bunch. I love how you rally for him, and I’m so grateful that he has you ✨”

Rumer Willis, Bruce Willis' daughter, also shared some snapshots with her dad for his 69th birthday. In the last photo in the carousel, which appears to be the most recent, she wraps her arm around her father as he points at something in the distance.

"Oh Daddio, to be loved by you is such a gift. You are the funniest, most tender, charming, out of this world silly talented and magical papa," she wrote in part.

Scout Willis shared an intimate moment with her father in a photo roundup celebrating the end of 2023. In the picture, she rests her head on her dad's chest as he holds her head in his hands and they smile at each other.

Scout Willis and dad Bruce Willis.@scoutlaruewillis via Instagram

In March 2025, for Bruce Willis' birthday, Tallulah Willis shared a post about what it's been like having Bruce Willis as a father.

While he's revered worldwide, to her, he's just her dad. "He’s a person, a man, a son, a kid from Jersey who hit the mother f-----g jackpot of life by the stroke of luck he couldn’t even explain," she wrote.

What Has Bruce Willis’ Family Said About His Dementia?

In February 2023, the Willis family shared in a statement that they finally had a “clear diagnosis” of frontotemporal dementia, adding that “challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces.”

Since then, his family has shared at times how they're coping with his condition.

On a Sept. 4, 2025 episode of The Oprah Podcast, Demi Moore shared what it’s been like watching her ex-husband’s health change and shared her admiration for Heming Willis' caregiving.

“There is no roadmap for how to deal with this. Being the ex-wife, even though our family is very connected, is an interesting position and so much fell on Emma to really figure this whole thing out. And the most beautiful thing — and she talks about this in the book, is recognizing the importance for caregivers, that they have to take care of themselves. If they don’t put that time into making sure that they’re okay, then they can’t show up for anyone else.” 

Heming Willis also described a time when step-daughter Scout Willis told her she was more concerned about Heming Willis' wellbeing than her father's. Heming Willis described it on the The Oprah Podcast as a wakeup call.

"I was so rundown," said Heming Willis. "If Scout's telling me that she's more worried about me than her own father, then I was, like, 'Oh my goodness, I'm losing it. I need to get myself together.' But I didn't know how to ask for help. I didn't know how to raise my hand. I didn't know that you could." This is the central theme of Heming Willis' book, "The Unexpected Journey," is about — learning to ask for help and support as a caregiver.

During a May 29, 2024, TODAY appearance, Rumer Willis reflected on the support she and her family have received.

"What’s lovely is people will stop me on the street or at the airport, wherever it is, and are so effusive about how much they love him, how much of an impact he’s had on them, or just that they’re sending love to our family," she said. "It really makes me a proud daughter, honestly, to just see how much love he’s getting."

"It's such a testament to who he is. He's so beloved," she added.

In March, Heming Willis also shared a message about celebrating milestones with a loved one with dementia and posted sweet pics in honor of her 15th wedding anniversary.

Bruce Willis in 2023 meeting his grandchild.@rumerwillis via Instagram

For Father's Day 2023, Rumer Willis reflected on what it was like to have her father meet his first grandchild.

“Seeing my father hold my daughter today was something I will treasure for the rest of my life. His sweetness and love for her was so pure and beautiful,” Rumer Willis wrote on Instagram. “Papa I’m so lucky to have you and so is Lou. Thank you for being the silliest, most loving, coolest Daddio a girl could ask for. Best Girl Dad in the game …”

Two years later, she got candid about the difficulties of having a sick parent. "I wish I asked you more questions while you could still tell me about it all," she wrote on Instagram for Father's Day. "But I know you wouldn’t want me to be sad today so I’ll try to just be grateful reminding myself how lucky I am that you’re my dad and that you’re still with me and I can still hold you and hug you and kiss your cheek and rub your head I can tell you stories."

Heming Willis honored Bruce Willis in a Father's Day post, too. "What Bruce teaches our girls goes far beyond words. Resilience, unconditional love, and the quiet strength in simply being present," she wrote in her caption.

What Happened To Bruce Willis?

Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, aka FTD, and had to retire from acting. Before his family publicly shared his diagnosis in 2023, they revealed in March 2022 that he had to step away from Hollywood because he was experiencing a disorder called aphasia. Aphasia occurs when a person struggles with speaking, understanding, reading or writing.

Aphasia can be caused by a head injury or stroke, and the onset will usually be sudden, or it can be caused by a disease such as frontotemporal dementia, in which case the communication difficulties get worse over time, experts previously told TODAY.com.

In an essay for Vogue published in May 2023, Bruce Willis' daughter Tallulah Willis wrote that his frontotemporal dementia "chips away at his cognition and behavior day by day."

Within the community of those whose loved ones have frontotemporal dementia, Heming Willis shared a common phrase: "It is what it is."

In a post, she acknowledged those words might sound harsh, but "it helps me return to the acceptance of what is and not fight this every step of the way like I used to," she wrote.

What Were the Early Signs of Bruce Willis’ Dementia?

The early signs of Bruce Willis' dementia included difficulty communicating, aka aphasia. His wife, Emma Heming Willis, assumed it was connected to Willis' childhood stutter in an Oct. 2024 Town & Country interview.

Tallulah Willis described his early health changes as "a vague unresponsiveness," in a Vogue essay, "which the family chalked up to Hollywood hearing loss: ‘Speak up! ‘Die Hard’ messed with Dad’s ears.’”

“Later that unresponsiveness broadened, and I sometimes took it personally. He had had two babies with my stepmother, Emma Heming Willis, and I thought he’d lost interest in me,” Tallulah Willis continued, later noting that this "couldn't have been farther from the truth."

She finally realized her father's health was declining when she was at a wedding and the father of the bride gave an emotional speech.

"Suddenly I realized that I would never get that moment, my dad speaking about me in adulthood at my wedding. It was devastating,” she recalled. “I left the dinner table, stepped outside, and wept in the bushes.”

FTD patients sometimes have “difficulty expressing themselves, understanding what’s being spoken and figuring out the meaning of things sometimes,” Dr. Jagan Pillai, neurologist at Cleveland Clinic's Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, previously told TODAY.com.

Did Bruce Willis Retire?

Yes, it was announced that Bruce Willis was retiring from acting in March 2022, when his family revealed that he'd been experiencing aphasia. Aphasia is a symptom associated with dementia and other illnesses that causes difficulty with communication, both in speaking and understanding written and spoken language.

What Is Bruce Willis’ Condition

Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, which includes a variety of neurodegenerative conditions, his family announced in February 2023.

FTD impacts the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Its onset begins earlier than other degenerative brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, and symptoms start on average around age 58, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Unlike other forms of dementia, memory difficulties aren’t the hallmark symptom of FTD.

“Most people, when they think of the word dementia, they think problems with memory and Alzheimer’s disease, but FTD doesn’t really show up as problems with memory. ... It affects how people behave, how they interact with others and how they speak,” Dr. Sami Barmada, director of Michigan Brain Bank and associate professor of neurology at University of Michigan Medicine, previously told TODAY.com.

Primary progressive aphasia is a type of FTD, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Aphasia can also be caused by a stroke, and in these cases, the loss of ability to speak is usually sudden. But with progressive aphasia, as Bruce Willis likely has, it usually starts mildly and gets worse as time passes, Barmada said.

Other common symptoms of FTD include apathy or unwillingness to talk, changes in personality and becoming more depressed, lack of social skills and obsessive behavior.

“It doesn’t look like a dementia or something that you can put your finger on. ... Very often you’ll hear people say they just started to act really weird, and they’re not the same person,” Barmada said.

What Is the Life Expectancy of Someone With Frontotemporal Dementia?

The average life expectancy for someone with frontotemporal dementia, which Bruce Willis has, is seven to 13 years after diagnosis, per the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. Cleveland Clinic said the life expectancy is seven and a half years, while Barmada told TODAY.com that 10 years or longer is considered a good prognosis.