The holidays are a special time, where we all try and shut out the day to day grind and make as much personal time as possible for family and friends. There are parties, and dinners, and social gatherings where we debate whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie. (For the record, it is, and anyone who thinks differently is silly.) Staying in the Die Hard realm, a lot of us are thinking about the cinematic icon Bruce Willis this holiday season, knowing the struggles that he and his very close family are facing due to his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis. But a source close to the family paints a rosy picture of their familial bond, and mentions how important the actor’s fans are to them in this difficult season.
Bruce Willis famously retired from acting back in 2022 due to him suffering from aphasia, a condition that affects a person’s ability to process words, their speech, and their ability to communicate. Once the actor called it quits on Hollywood, I wrote a book celebrating Willis’ illustrious film career, because I didn’t think that he got enough credit for his versatility, his comedic chops, and his dramatic heft in pictures such as Pulp Fiction or The Sixth Sense. As the aphasia diagnosis evolved into FTD, fans received a steady stream of updates on Willis’ condition thanks to his wife Emma Heming, his daughters, and his celebrity ex Demi Moore posting frequent notes to social media.
This Christmas, however, a source close to the family has revealed to InTouch Weekly that the extended Willis family is doing everything that they can to help the actor find joy in the season. The source says:
(They are) planning to make this Christmas extra special. They’re still praying for a miracle, of course, and finding a cure for the disease, but they’re mostly focused on spending quality time with him while they still can. At this point, every second of connection with him is special. … (They) will definitely have a special celebration with Bruce, Emma, Mabel and Evelyn. They’ll listen to music and look at old photos and videos. They love coming together as a family.
That should serve as a necessary reminder about what’s important during the holidays. Spending as much time as possible with loved ones, no matter their health status, is so important. For their well being, as well as for our own. It’s far too easy to get caught up on the hamster wheel that is our daily routine. We can only hope that, like the Willis family, we can press pause on everything else, reflect on the past year, and get our feet underneath us as we head into 2025.
Still, the Willis family appears to know how important fan interest has been to the actor’s rehabilitation, and they have promised to keep Bruce’s supporters in the loop this holiday season. The source goes on to inform InTouch:
The whole family will continue posting videos and photos, to serve as a touching message from Bruce to his fans — that he’ll always find joy in his life, even now.
All of us at CinemaBlend with the Willis family peace, love, and joy this holiday season. They can cherish the time that they all have together. And they can celebrate the love that Demi Moore is getting for her award-winning turn in the brilliant film The Substance. Which is not a Chrustmas movie, by any stretch. Let’s not even start that debate. Merry Christmas, Bruce Willis. Yippee-kai-yay to you, sir.
