Bruce Willis has reportedly settled into a routine amid his struggle with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a degenerative brain disease that damages the frontal and temporal lobes.
The actor retired in spring 2022 following an initial aphasia diagnosis, a disorder that affects how you communicate, which was later revealed to be FTD after they received a more specific diagnosis in 2023.
Now, sources close to Bruce Willis claim that he knows he is deeply loved and cared for, but his ability to communicate remains limited three years after his diagnosis was first shared publicly.
Bruce Willis Maintains A Regular Routine Amid Dementia Diagnosis
According to sources close to the family, Willis has maintained a daily routine that focuses on keeping him active and in regular contact with his relatives.
“He exercises, goes for walks, and maintains pretty normal hours with regular visits from his extended family,” a source tells the National Examiner.
Willis’ condition has reportedly negatively affected his ability to communicate, with the insider stating that the actor “continues to only be able to minimally communicate.”
However, the actor is said to still be able to recognize his children, and the source noted that he “reacts well” to his wife Emma Heming Willis and ex-wife Demi Moore.
The 71-year-old has five children, namely Rumer Willis, 38, Scout LaRue Willis, 35, Tallulah Willis, 32, which he shares with Moore, and Mabel Ray Willis, 14, as well as Evelyn Penn Willis, 12, which he shares with Heming.
The insider emphasized that Willis “knows this more than anything: that he is loved deeply by his family,” and that although “nobody knows how much longer he has,” while he is still able to be with them, they are keeping him comfortable.
The Decision To Move The Actor To A Different Home
In 2025, Hemming made the “really hard decision” to move Willis out of the family house and into a home separate from herself where he is reportedly cared for 24/7 by a team of professionals.
Hemming suggested that the move was driven by concerns for their daughters Mabel and Evelyn as well as the safety of Willis himself.
According to People Magazine, Hemming said during an appearance on Cameron Oaks Roger’s “Conversations with Cam” podcast, “Caregivers are faced with really hard decisions, and we have to do what is the best for our family, what’s the safest for our person.”
She revealed that Mabel and Evelyn were having a hard time as the actor’s condition progressed, “They weren’t having sleepovers, play dates. We weren’t inviting people over … it was a really hard time.”
Hemming added that, “Bruce wouldn’t want his two young daughters to be clouded by his disease,” which reassured her she was making the right decision for her family.
The new arrangement created a balance that supposedly let both Willis and his young daughters thrive. “Our children are thriving, and so is Bruce, and that is the most important,” she said.
Despite the distance between them, the 50-year-old mother of two is “over there all the time” with her children, and according to her, the choice has worked out very well for the family.
Bruce Willis’ Family Has Turned To FTD Advocacy
Hemming has fully embraced her role as Bruce’s primary caregiver and has become an ardent advocate for dementia awareness.
People reported that the British actress launched the Emma & Bruce Willis Fund for Dementia Research and Caregiver Support in March 2026
Hemming made the announcement while accepting the Susan & Si Newhouse Award of Hope at The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration’s Hope Rising Benefit in New York.
In a recent Instagram post during World FTD Awareness Week, she wrote, “He is the driving force behind my advocacy. He has opened so many doors for me in this work, and I will continue to walk through them. I will not let his diagnosis be in vain. “
The Actor’s Daughter Said She Misses A ‘Different Version’ Of Him
Willis’ dementia diagnosis has been an ordeal for the entire family, who have been showing up for Willis since the beginning.
Rumer, the actor’s eldest daughter, has spoken openly about missing “a different version” of her beloved father.
E! News reported that Rumer said in a video shared by health company Function, “I really miss my dad. I miss a different version of who he was. There are some days that are just so hard.”
However, she also described seeing a newfound tenderness in her ailing father that she hadn’t seen before when he was better.
She said, “There’s this sweetness. He’s always been this macho dude, and now there’s this—fragile is not the right word—but like a tenderness that maybe being Bruce Willis might not have allowed him in a way.”
Bruce Willis’ Family Is Worried About His Wife, Emma Heming
Hemming has openly expressed grief over her husband’s condition, which she once described as living with an “ambiguous loss” and “grieving someone who is alive.”
According to the Examiner source, everyone in the family now worries about Hemming because, “she can come across like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders.”
Despite the concerns, she remains dedicated to his care and, as the insider put it, Hemming “does everything she can to get a grin out of him and put that trademark twinkle back in his eyes.”
