Bruce's Sad Goodbye

A DEVASTATING NEW DIAGNOSIS ROCKS THE BELOVED ACTION STAR AS HIS FAMILY FIGHTS TO BUILD MEMORIES BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.

TEN months after Bruce Willis revealed his aphasia diagnosis, his family received another devastating blow. The 67-year-old’s condition had progressed and he was now battling

frontotemporal dementia (FTD). “Bruce has always found joy in life — and has helped everyone he knows to do the same,” the Die Hard actor’s family wrote in an open letter signed by wife Emma Heming and their two kids, Mabel and Evelyn, as well as his ex-wife Demi Moore and her daughters with Bruce, Rumer, Scout and Tallulah. “Your continued compassion, understanding and respect will enable us to help Bruce live as full a life as possible.”

As their patriarch’s health deteriorates, Bruce’s family has come together like never before. “They’ve forged a real lasting bond over this tragedy,” a source tells Star. “They know they can lean on each other.” They will need the support: FTD is a devastating diagnosis that can leave patients unable to communicate and can cause changes in behavior that are heartbreaking for loved ones to witness. “They may ‘lose’ the Bruce they know and love,” says the source. “He may stop knowing them and stop knowing who he is. It terrifies them.”