Tallulah Willis opens up about dealing with dementia dad Bruce Willis – The Hollywood Reporter

Tallulah Willis and Bruce Willis

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Tallulah Willis gets candid about how she dealt with her father Bruce Willis’ dementia, from when she first learned about his diagnosis to finding acceptance in the present day.

in First person essay for Vogue magazineWillis becomes vulnerable when talking about how her struggles from being fully with her family affected her during the early stages of Bruce’s diagnosis, which she said she “knew something was wrong for a long time.”

last year , Die hard The actor’s family said he was “walking away” from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia. Then in February, his family shared an update on his health, saying that his condition had worsened and that he was now battling frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

It started with a kind of vague unresponsiveness, which the family compensated for with Hollywood hearing loss: ‘Speak! Die hard I fiddled with my dad’s ears,” explained Willis, who is also Demi Moore’s daughter. “Later, the lack of response widened, and sometimes I took it personally.”

She continued, “He’s fathered two kids with my stepmother, Emma Heming Willis, and I thought he’d lost interest in me. Although that couldn’t be further from the truth, my teenage brain tortured itself with some wrong math: I’m not pretty enough for my mom.” I don’t care enough about my dad.”

But when Willis said she was meant to be there for her family, she admitted she was facing her own struggles, saying, “I’ve met Bruce’s decline in recent years with a share of avoidance and denial that I’m not proud of.”

Willis described her battles over the past decade after becoming sober at the age of 20, including suffering from anorexia nervosa and entering a residential treatment facility for depression. She was also diagnosed with ADHD and began taking stimulant medication, which she described as “transformative”.

But while she was “covered with my body flaw, flaunting it on Instagram,” she said her father was “quietly struggling.”

“I was able to give an epidural into my father’s central canal; the good feelings weren’t really there, and the bad feelings weren’t really there,” Willis recalls. “But I remember a moment when I felt pain: I was at a wedding in the summer of 2021 on Martha’s Vineyard, and the father of the bride gave a poignant speech. Suddenly I knew I would never have that moment, my dad talking about me into adulthood at my wedding. It was devastating.” .

While trying to deal with her feelings and find an understanding of Willis’ health, she admitted that she still had “hopes for my parents that I’m reluctant to give up.” But as time went on, she slowly began to find her version of acceptance.

“Recovery is likely to last a lifetime, but now I have the tools to be present in all aspects of my life, and especially in my relationship with my parents,” she said. “I could bring him a bright, sunny energy, no matter where I was.”

She continued, “In the past I was so afraid that grief would destroy me, but finally I felt that I could show up and be counted on. I could savor that time, hold my father’s hand, and feel it wonderful. I know that trials are on the horizon, that this is the beginning of grief, but that’s it.” It’s all about loving yourself before you can love someone else – it’s real.”