Demi Moore gives Bruce Willis health update amid dementia battle

Demi Moore has given a brief update on ex Bruce Willis' health. Photo / Axelle / Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic

Demi Moore has shared a brief update on the health of ex-husband Bruce Willis, while also revealing the advice she has given their children amid his battle with dementia.

The 61-year-old, who has been divorced three times – her exes including Ashton Kutcher, 46, and Willis, 69 – has been speaking openly about her life and career during the press tour for her latest film The Substance, which releases in New Zealand this week.

The Substance, a body horror that sees Moore starring as an ageing fitness guru on a quest for youth, also features Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood actress Margaret Qualley, 29.

During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Moore spoke candidly about the advice she has given her three children when it comes to communicating with their ill father, while also sharing how she “treasures” the time she spends with Willis following his dementia diagnosis early last year.

(L-R) Rumer Willis, Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, Scout Willis, Emma Heming Willis and Tallulah Willis pictured on September 23, 2019 in Los Angeles. Photo / Stefanie Keenan / Getty Images for goop

Moore was married to the Die Hard star – with whom she shares Rumer, 36, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 30 – from 1987 to 2000, but remains in regular contact with her ex amid his ongoing health battle.

“What I say to my kids is you meet [people] where they’re at. You don’t hold on to who they were, or what you want them to be, but who they are in this moment.

“And from that, there is such beauty and joy and loving and sweetness.

“When I’m in LA, I go over [to Willis’ house] every week, and I really treasure the time that we all share.”

She added that “given the givens, [Willis] is in a stable place”.

In 2022, Willis’ family – which includes his current wife Emma Heming Willis, 46, and their children Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 9 – announced he was retiring from acting after being diagnosed with the speech and language disorder aphasia. His diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia was confirmed the following year.

Speaking to the Guardian recently, Moore also made a dating admission, telling the outlet: “Dating is not really where my focus is. Particularly in the last four, five years, my focus has been to lean into my work.

“I’m more in a place that’s much more about choice as opposed to feeling there is any kind of lack.”

- Additional reporting by NZ Herald.