Father’s Day this year carried a mix of tenderness and heartache beneath the summer solstice’s long, watchful light. You ever wonder if the cosmos nudges us to reflect a little deeper on the ties that bind when the Moon hangs just so—in this case, shining over Rumer Willis’ touching tribute to her dad, Bruce Willis? The famed “Die Hard” star, bravely facing frontotemporal dementia following his earlier diagnosis of aphasia, stepped away from the spotlight, shifting his family into a new constellation—one where love morphs, but never fades. Rumer’s words pulse with raw gratitude and aching longing—a reminder that even as time blurs memory, the essence of family remains a steadfast star. How do we hold onto the stories and moments when they start to slip through our fingers like cosmic dust? Through love, through presence, and through the shared light of kinship—even when that light flickers differently than before. For the full story on this poignant Father’s Day, LEARN MORE.
Bruce Willis’ daughter Rumer has shared a heartfelt tribute to her dad on Father’s Day.
In 2023, the Die Hard legend was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, which affects the front and sides of the brain, and that followed the previous year where it had been announced he was retiring from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia.
Rumer Willis said in 2022 that aphasia was ‘impacting his cognitive abilities’ and as such, her dad was no longer going to be acting.
Since then his family have provided a few updates on his condition with them saying they would still be a family, ‘just in a different form‘.
His daughter Tallulah said last year that ‘our visits have so much love and I feel that’ and that they talk about what it’s like so they can raise awareness of living with a family member who has dementia.
With it being Father’s Day yesterday (15 June), Rumer Willis took took to Instagram to share how her dad was doing and to write down some things she wanted to share about her relationship with him.
Bruce Willis and his daughter Rumer pictured together in 2015 (Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
“Today is hard, I feel a deep ache in my chest to talk to you and tell you everything I’m doing and what’s going on in my life,” Rumer wrote.
“To hug you and ask you about life and your stories and struggles and successes. I wish I asked you more questions while you could still tell me about it all.
“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.
“I can watch the way your eyes light up when you see Louetta I will be grateful for every moment I have with you. I love you so much dad happy Father’s Day.
“Sending love to all those who are in the boat with me or have lost their fathers, to the single moms who are the dads too, to my future baby daddy…”
Many people responding to Rumer’s post said they sent their love, and several others said they were in the ‘same boat’ with a family member and it was ‘so nice to know we are not alone’.
Willis’ ex-wife Demi Moore, who he shares three of his daughters with including Rumer and Tallulah, has previously said: “If it can have any impact on another family that is struggling in any way with something like this, or bring more attention to the disease in hopes of finding a cure or anything that can be of service to anybody else, I think it’s really important.”
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