The wedding of Tallulah Willis, daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, was especially moving — not only because her mother and sisters were there, but also because her 71-year-old father, who is dealing with advanced dementia, was among those present.
Vogue magazine published photos Friday from the event, which took place last week. The most prominent image showed Willis with his daughter and her new husband, Justin Acee. Alongside the photo, Tallulah wrote: “A tender moment with my father and Justin at the start of the wedding weekend.”
The event was held in the yard of the family home in Idaho, and Tallulah told the magazine: “This is the place where I learned to run free and become the dreamer I am today. Justin and I have spent so much time there together, and although this place has such a strong emotional pull for me, it feels like an inseparable part of the estate.”
Tallulah is the youngest daughter of Willis and Moore, whose marriage ended in 2000 after 13 years and three daughters together. In 2009, Willis remarried, wedding model Emma Heming, 50. They have two daughters, Mabel, 14, and Evelyn, 12.
In 2022, Willis’ family announced that he had been diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that affects cognitive abilities. A year later, it emerged that he has frontotemporal dementia, which accounts for about 20% of dementia cases. It is caused by degeneration of brain cells in the frontal and temporal regions. It is characterized mainly by significant impairment in social functioning and personality changes, though without problems in thinking in its early stages. Because of the unique characteristics of frontotemporal dementia in its early stages, diagnosis and treatment are often delayed. There is currently no drug treatment for the disease, though treatments for symptoms can ease suffering.
Since then, Willis has disappeared from the public eye and from the front of the stage, and his family members occasionally provide updates on his condition, which is unfortunately continuing to deteriorate.
Tallulah previously wrote an essay for Vogue in which she described moments when she noticed her father was not attentive to her, but feared the problem was with her. “For a long time, I knew something was wrong, and I thought my dad had simply lost interest in me. I took it personally,” she wrote. She said that at first, everyone thought Willis was having hearing problems and blamed the loud effects in the action movies in which he used to appear. “I was told to speak louder to him,” she wrote. “He underwent all kinds of cognitive tests, but there were still no results. My father was struggling quietly. I admit that I dealt with his decline in recent years with avoidance and denial, and I am not proud of that.”
Bruce Willis and Tallulah
(Photo: Instagram)
Heming recently said Willis is not aware of his medical condition because of a neurological condition called anosognosia, the brain’s inability to recognize its own impairment. “Bruce never really picked up on it, he didn’t connect the dots and understand that he has this disease. I’m glad he doesn’t know about it,” she said.
In another interview, she said she is certain Bruce still recognizes her and the family: “I know he does. When we’re with him, a light comes on in his face. He holds our hands and we kiss and hug him, and he responds, he is happy. And that is all I need.”