Getty Rumer and Bruce Willis
Rumer Willis shared a rare, real-time video of her father, Bruce Willis.
The “Dancing With the Stars” season 20 champion posted a new video to Instagram after her family celebrated the “Die Hard” actor’s 68th birthday on March 19, 2023.
Bruce Willis has been out of the public eye for more than a year. In early 2022, he stepped away from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia. He received a more specific diagnosis in March 2023.
Here’s what you need to know:
Bruce Willis Was Surrounded By His Loved Ones as He Celebrated His 68th Birthday
In a video posted to Instagram on March 19, Bruce Willis was seen with his family surrounding him in a spacious kitchen as they sang the “Happy Birthday” song to him. The actor wore jeans, sneakers, and had a large scarf wrapped around his neck as he celebrated with his family.
The camera panned to the extended family, which included the actor’s wife, Emma Heming, ex-wife, Demi Moore, and all five of his daughters: Rumer, Tallulah, Scout, Mabel, and Evelyn. As a candlelit pie was presented to him, Bruce joined in his family’s “hip-hip-hooray” cheers before blowing out the candles. He appeared happy and smiling throughout the video.
“Happy Birthday Daddio I love you to the 🌙 You are so cool,” Rumer captioned the video. On her Instagram Story, a pregnant Rumer shared another photo of her resting her head on her father’s shoulder as he hugged her.
Rumer’s mom Demi Moore also shared the clip. “Happy birthday, BW! So glad we could celebrate you today. Love you and love our family. Thank you to everyone for the love and warm wishes — we all feel them.”
Heming also shared a birthday tribute to her husband in which she described him as “pure love.”
Rumer Willis Shared Details of Her Father’s Medical Diagnosis in Early March 2023
The birthday video came a few weeks after Rumer posted a statement on Instagram to reveal that her father had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. According to the Mayo Clinic, the brain disorder can change a patient’s personality, behavior, and communication skills.
“Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces,” Rumer and her family shared in the update, before adding that despite the “painful” news, they were grateful to finally have a clear diagnosis for the actor’s condition.
In a separate Instagram post on Bruce’s birthday, Heming admitted that she was having a hard time getting ready to celebrate her husband’s first birthday since his dementia diagnosis. The mom of two added that going through old family videos to make a video reel felt like “a knife” in her heart.
“Today is my husband’s birthday,” she shared in a video message. “I have started the morning by crying, as you can see by my swollen eyes and snotty nose. I just think it’s important that you see all sides of this. …I do have times of sadness, every day. Grief, every day. And I’m really feeling it today on his birthday.”
Heming added that she is forced to put on a brave face because she is raising two young daughters.
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