Demi Moore Opens Up About Watching Ex-Husband Bruce Willis Battle Dementia

The "A Few Good Men" star, who was married to the retired actor for more than ten years, reflected on watching the toll his sickness had taken during an appearance on "The Oprah Podcast."

Demi Moore has opened up about watching her former husband, Bruce Willis, slowly fade away amid his battle with dementia. The beloved "Die Hard" star retired from acting in March 2022 after being diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder that impairs the ability to speak.

Less than a year later, his wife, Emma Heming Willis, revealed his dementia diagnosis and has been his full-time caregiver ever since. Emma opened up about her experience in her new book, "The Unexpected Journey: Finding Hope and Purpose on the Caregiving Path."

She also sat down with Oprah in a September 2 installment of "The Oprah Podcast," to discuss the book. During the segment, Oprah played a clip from a separate interview with Demi, who shares three daughters with Bruce and remains close to him and Emma.

"How has it been for you personally to watch this moment, someone you have shared much of your life with and children with, suffer from this disease?" Oprah asked in the clip.

Demi replied, "It's difficult. It's hard to see somebody who was so vibrant and strong and so directed shift into this other parts of themself. But, my particular perspective is, one, I really always say it's so important just to meet them where they're at."

"Don't have an expectation of them needing to be who they were or who you want them to be, " she continued. Demi later added that "the most important" thing for her is "showing up and being present," because, as she puts it, "If you project where it's going, it only creates anxiety."

"If you replay where it was and what you've lost, it only creates anxiety and grief," she added. "So when you stay present, there is so much — and there's still so much of him there. And it may not always be verbal, but it is beautiful, given the givens."