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Bruce Willis Speaks Publicly For First Time Since Dementia Diagnosis

Bruce Willis has spoken publicly for the first time in a birthday video on Instagram following his dementia diagnosis.
Credit: @demimoore/Instagram

Bruce Willis has spoken publicly for the first time since his dementia diagnosis.

The Die Hard star, 68, was diagnosed with aphasia last year – a condition which impacts a person’s ability to communicate – and this forced Willis to retire from acting.

However, it was later revealed that The Sixth Sense star had been diagnosed with ‘untreatable’ frontotemporal dementia.

His family have tried their best to keep him out of the spotlight since his illness was made public.

However, Willis has now spoken publicly for the first time.

Find out more about Bruce Willis’ dementia diagnosis below…

His ex-wife, Demi Moore, 60, shared a video on her Instagram page as his current wife Emma Heming and his five children sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the Pulp Fiction actor.

Willis can be seen joining in with the ‘hip hip hooray’ at the end, where he is visibly happy to be with his family.

The Ghost actress captioned the post: “Happy birthday, BW! So glad we could celebrate [with] you today.”

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She continues: “Love you and love our family. Thank you to everyone for the love and warm wishes – we all feel them.”

Moore later shared more snaps from the day, which shows the family posing for photos in the garden.

Fans of the actor have taken to the comments to wish the Armageddon star birthday wishes while reacting to the footage.

One person writes: “This made me cry. Happy Birthday, Bruce Willis! You are so loved and admired by many!!! Thank you for sharing your life, talent and love with the world.”

Bruce Willis and family
Bruce Willis has been speaking publicly for the first time since his dementia diagnosis. Credit: @demimoore/Instagram

Another viewer adds: “What a legend! Beautiful to see this amazing human with the people he loves and who love him!”

A third fan says: “So beautiful!! This bought tears to my eyes but a smile from ear to ear. Family love is the best!!

“Happy Birthday Bruce!! Continue to smile, laugh and bring joy as you do!”

While actress Rita Wilson writes: “Happy Birthday Bruce!!!!! We love you!”

“Happy birthday Bruce. Love to you all,” comments a fifth.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Demi Moore (@demimoore)

Willis’ family provided an update on his health in February, in which they revealed he had officially been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.

A statement that was shared on daughter Rumer’s Instagram account said: “Our family wanted to start by expressing our deepest gratitude for the incredible outpouring of love, support and wonderful stories we have all received since sharing Bruce’s original diagnosis.

“In the spirit of that, we wanted to give you an update about our beloved husband, father and friend since we now have a deeper understanding of what he is experiencing.”

Related Article: Bruce Willis Poses For Rare Family Photo With Wife, Five Kids And Ex Demi Moore After Sad Health Update

Related Article: Bruce Willis’ Daughter Rumer Is Pregnant With Her First Child

The statement continued: “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD).”

She went on to explain the pain that the family are going through but admitted they were at least pleased to have finally had a clear diagnosis.

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Written by Rosario Monachino

Rosario is a former content editor at IGV who specialized in film, TV, and entertainment news. He has a degree in English and Film from the University of Salford and a master's in Journalism from Liverpool John Moores University.