Bruce Willis' Younger Daughters Came Up with an Acronym for His Dementia Diagnosis to 'Remember the Way the Letters Go' Kimberlee SpeakmanAugust 28, 2025 at 2:36 AM Demi Moore/ Instagram Bruce Willis poses with wife Emma Heming Willis, Demi Moore and his five daughters Bruce Willis' wife Emma Heming...
- - Bruce Willis' Younger Daughters Came Up with an Acronym for His Dementia Diagnosis to 'Remember the Way the Letters Go'
Kimberlee SpeakmanAugust 28, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Demi Moore/ Instagram
Bruce Willis poses with wife Emma Heming Willis, Demi Moore and his five daughters -
Bruce Willis' wife Emma Heming Willis revealed during an interview with Diane Sawyer that her and the actor's daughters made up an acronym to remember his frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis
She also shared that she has been "very open" with the girls about the Die Hard actor's diagnosis because she "never wanted them to think" that he "wasn't paying attention to them"
Bruce and Emma share young daughters Mabel and Evelyn, and he also shares daughters Rumer Glenn Willis, Scout LaRue Willis and Tallulah Belle Willis, with ex-wife Demi Moore
Bruce Willis' youngest daughters are aware of his frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis — and even have a unique way of remembering the term.
The actor's wife, Emma Heming Willis, 47, revealed in a new interview with Diane Sawyer titled Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey that she discussed Willis' diagnosis early on with their daughters Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11.
"Pretty quickly, I told them. I have always been very open with the girls," she said in the special. "I never wanted them to think that [Bruce] wasn't paying attention to them."
"What I learned is that when you give them the information, you wait to hear what the questions might be, and they really didn't have questions about it. I think there was a sense of relief for all of us that, like, 'Okay, now we get it and now we understand,' " Heming Willis added.
Emma Heming Willis/Instagram
Bruce Willis and his family.
The Willis family revealed in March 2022 that the actor, 70, had been diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder that affects the ability to communicate, and was retiring from acting. Heming Willis then revealed her husband's FTD diagnosis just under a year later.
However, "frontotemporal dementia" was still a bit of a mouthful to pronounce for the pre-teens, so they came up with an acronym to describe what was happening instead: "Fantastic Turtles Dancing in Bruce's Head."
"The girls put that acronym together so that we could remember the way the letters go," Heming Willis explained.
Elsewhere in the emotional interview, the mother of two described how life has changed since Willis was diagnosed with FTD, saying that while he was "in really great health overall," his brain was "failing him."
"The language is going, and, you know, we've learned to adapt," she said. "And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different, a different way."
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty
Bruce Willis and his wife Emma Heming attend the premiere of Universal Pictures' "Glass" at SVA Theatre on January 15, 2019 in New York City.
Despite this, she said there are still "moments" where Willis displays flashes of his charismatic personality to his family.
"It's his laugh, right? He has such a hearty laugh. And sometimes you'll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk. I just get transported," Heming Willis shared. "And it's just hard to see, because as quickly as those moments appear, then it goes."
She added that he also still has a noticeable connection with his five daughters. The Die Hard star also shares daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah 31, with ex-wife Demi Moore.
Tallulah Willis; Scout Willis/Instagram
Bruce Willis shares a moment with daughters Tallulah and Scout
"He's holding our hands. We're kissing him. We're hugging him," Heming Willis said. "He is reciprocating. You know, he is into it."
"And so that's all I need, you know?" she said. "I don't need him to know that I am his wife, and we were married on this day, and this is what it — I don't need any of that. I just wanna feel that I have a connection with him. And I do."
Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
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