Rumer Willis Breaks Down in Emotional Tribute to Bruce — “Today Is Hard”

Season 20 DWTS winner Rumer Willis spoke about dad Bruce Willis, who was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia 2022, in an emotional Father’s Day tribute to the “Die Hard” star. The 36-year-old began her message, which she posted on Instagram, by saying, “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.” She also said she wished she had asked her father for more stories about his life “while you could still tell me all about it.”

Willis then hinted at her father’s condition, revealing he has been spending time with his family.

After remarking that her father “wouldn’t want me to be sad today,” she wrote, “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.”

The mom of one also revealed Bruce Willis’ eyes “light up” when he sees his two-year-old granddaughter, Louetta, whom Willis shares with ex Derek Richard Thomas. People says Willis and Thomas split in August 2024.

How Is Bruce Willis Doing?

On February 16, 2023, a statement signed “The Willis Family” appeared on the website of The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. The statement announced that Willis’ diagnosis of aphasia, which came in 2022, had progressed to frontotemporal dementia.

The Father’s Day 2025 message posted by his daughter with Demi Moore, Rumer Willis, says she and her daughter have been spending time with the Gold Globe winner.

The star’s wife, Emma, whom he married in 2009, shared an emotional Father’s Day post on June 15, 2025, wishing a happy Father’s Day “to all the dads living with disability or disease, showing up in the ways they can and to the children who show up for them.”

Another portion of her post revealed that “these symbolic holidays stir up a lot” for the mom of two. “I’m profoundly sad today. I wish, with every cell in my body, that things could be different for him and lighter for our family,” she said.

Rumer Willis Revealed on Father’s Day 2025 She Wants Another Baby

At the end of her touching tribute to her father Bruce Willis, the starlet revealed she would like to have another child by including “my future baby daddy” on her list of people to whom she wanted to wish a happy day. The wellness advocate also shouted out single moms and “all those who are in the boat with me or have lost their fathers.”

In October 2024, Willis opened up to E! about coparenting with her ex.

“Derek and I have an unbelievable coparenting relationship and friendship that’s so loving and wonderful,” the outlet quoted her as saying. “He’s still my best friend. So it’s just a different chapter,” she added.