As the Sixth Sense star Bruce Willis and his family come to terms with his dementia diagnosis, it has been claimed that a number of his showbiz friends are keeping their distance
Some of Bruce Willis’ celebrity friends have abandoned him as he battles dementia with his health diminishing, it has been claimed.
The movie mega star is now living in a separate, single-storey home with round-the-clock carers as his family continues to confront the painful reality of his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis. The much-loved film great, 71, was diagnosed with the condition in February 2023. He has largely stepped back from public life as the heartbreaking disease takes its grip.
Earlier this year, his wife Emma Heming Willis said that the Die Hard star “doesn’t know” that he has the degenerative disease, as one of the neurological symptoms includes anosognosia, which prevents a person from recognising their own illness.
To see more of the stories you love from The Mirror and to find them easily in Google then make us your preferred source. Free and easy-to-do, just click on the link here to find more from The Mirror at the top of your feed.
But while his health appears to be deteriorating, Bruce is now ‘Mr Mellow” and is more ‘at ease’ than he was younger.
A source says he has declined ‘a lot mentally’ and is ‘living in his own world‘ but ‘doesn’t talk about it or even complain much’.
They told the DailyMail: “If you look at him he appears like a healthy middle-aged man. He knows his life is different, but he doesn’t think it is that different.”
But it is claimed many of his Hollywood pals no longer keep in close contact. “That is how the business is,” the source went on. “Once you stop working, all those glam friends forget you. In this town, the A-listers are saying, “Bruce who?”‘
While some of his former co-stars may have kept a distance, Bruce’s close-knit family, including his ex-wife Demi Moore with whom he shares three children, are rallying around him during this challenging time.
His family announced his retirement from acting right before his condition had progressed.
Frontotemporal dementia affects areas of the brain linked to language, behaviour and personality. Unlike Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss is not always the first symptom.
FTD is a rare form of dementia that affects the fontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Bruce’s version primarily affects his ability to communicate and his language skills.
His eldest daughter, Rumer Willis, recently spoke candidly during an Instagram Q&A, revealing that her father does not always recognise her since his diagnosis.
“People always ask me this question and I think it’s a hard one to answer,’ she said tearfully. “The truth is that anybody with FTD is not doing great, but he’s doing okay in terms of somebody who is dealing with frontotemporal dementia.”
Rumer explained that the usual ways people measure wellbeing no longer apply. She added: “The only way that I feel like I can answer that in a way that was like “he’s doing great” is like, those parameters don’t really work anymore in my mind.”
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
