Tallulah Willis Explains Feeling Grief Amid Father Bruce Willis’ Dementia Battle
02.06.2023 - 11:51
/ etcanada.com
Tallulah Willis continues to battle with her own grief as her father, Bruce Willis, battles frontotemporal dementia — a progressive neurological disorder that impacts both cognition and behaviour.
Bruce was diagnosed with the disorder last year, and as a byproduct, aphasia, a brain-mediated inability to speak or to understand speech. Tallulah recently opened up about her father’s health and her changing relationship with the “Die Hard” star in a candid essay for Vogue. Speaking to ET’s Brice Sander at the premiere of her new Fox reality series, “Stars on Mars”, Thursday, Tallulah said she hopes that her words resonate with people.
“I mean, the response has been so unbelievable, and I’m incredibly grateful, not only for the people that have reached out, but for Vogue and Anna and Rob and everyone that was a part of getting that there,” Tallulah said. “And I think that for me, I hope that whatever anyone needed to take from that, they can take from it. I don’t necessarily want to dictate what they needed to take from that. I think that that’s their truth, and I just hope that there can be more moments that I can help open up the space for things to resonate for people.”
The essay resonated with her family as well, with Tallulah adding that they were “very proud” of her, not only for opening up about Bruce’s health struggles but her own, as she’s worked to overcome body dysmorphia and anorexia over the years.
As for what she wants the world to think about after hearing her story, it’s that there’s an abundance of power in kindness, patience and compassion.
“I think that as with every person and every moment, there is so much power in kindness and patience and compassion,” she explained. “And I think that can be true for