Rumer Willis shares surprising upside to dad Bruce Willis’ heartbreaking dementia battle

Rumer Willis says dad father Bruce Willis has developed a “sweetness” amid his ongoing battle with dementia.

“I’m so grateful I get to go see him,” the actress said during an on-camera interview with “The Inside Edit” published Monday.

“Even though it’s different now, I’m so grateful,” she continued. “There’s a sweetness. He’s always been this kind of macho dude and there’s like a — fragile is not the right word but — just a tenderness that maybe being Bruce Willis might not have allowed him in a certain way.”

Rumer, 37, also noted that until her father’s diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), she “had no idea” how “prevalent” the progressive neurological disease is.

“It’s wild to me,” she told host Maeve Reilly during the discussion. “So many people come up to me now and they say, ‘My uncle had FTD. My dad had this.’”

Rumer — who welcomed her first baby, a daughter named Louetta, in April 2018 with Derek Richard Thomas, whom she split from a year later — is the eldest child of the Bruce, 71, and ex-wife Demi Moore.

The “Die Hard” actor also share daughters Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 32, with Moore, 63, while he additionally welcomed daughters Mabel, 14, and Evelyn, 12 with current wife Emma Heming Willis.

Despite their divorce in 2000, Bruce and “The Substance” actress remain on good terms.

On the action star’s birthday in March, Moore shared a tender tribute to her ex on social media, writing, “All you need is LOVE. Happy birthday, BW! ♥️.”

The family announced in 2022 that Bruce was retiring from acting following a diagnosis of aphasia.

Nearly a year later, his battle with FTD was revealed via a statement on the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration’s website.

“While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis,” the family wrote at the time, calling it a “cruel disease” that “can strike anyone.”

“For people under 60, FTD is the most common form of dementia, and because getting the diagnosis can take years, FTD is likely much more prevalent than we know,” they added.

Bruce’s family also noted that if he was able to respond to his situation, he “would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families.”

Rumer and her sisters, meanwhile, have provided periodic peeks into their loving family life with their father as he continues to fight FTD.

In November, the mom of one took to her Instagram Stories with a heartbreaking update on her famous dad.

Responding to a follower asking how her father was doing, Rumer replied that it’s “a hard one to answer because, the truth is, anybody with FTD is not doing great.”

She added in the upload that Bruce is “doing OK in terms of somebody who’s dealing with frontotemporal dementia” and that while “those parameters” affect how she views her father’s ongoing battle, she remains “so happy and grateful” that she’s still able to “hug him.”