Tallulah Willis disclosed to ‘Vogue’ that her father had been deteriorating in health for years.

Tallulah Willis claims that after being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, her father Bruce Willis still recognizes her.

Tallulah, 29, wrote a first-person essay for Vogue in which she described Bruce, 68, who was diagnosed with FTD, a degenerative brain disease, in February after his family initially revealed that he had been suffering from aphasia in 2022.

She wrote, “I’ve known that something was wrong for a long time. The family blamed Hollywood hearing loss for the initial foggy unresponsiveness, saying, “Speak up! Dad’s ears were damaged by Die Hard.

Tallulah added, “Later that unresponsiveness widened, and I sometimes took it personally. It was hard not to take the quiet personally. I believed he had become distant from me after he fathered two children with my stepmother, Emma Heming Willis.

She continued, referring to her mother Demi Moore: “Though this couldn’t have been further from the truth, my adolescent brain tormented myself with some flawed math: I’m not pretty enough for my mother, I’m not intriguing enough for my father.

Despite her personal difficulties, Tallulah said that she responded to her father’s health decline with “avoidance and denial”. However, she claimed that she was better equipped to face reality after receiving therapy for her eating issue and a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.

Although recovery is likely a lifetime process, Tallulah stated, “I now have the tools to be present in all aspects of my life, and especially in my relationship with my dad.”

No matter where I’ve gone, I can offer him a sunny, bright spirit, she said. In the past, I was terrified of letting melancholy consume me, but at last, I feel like I can depend on myself to be there.

Tallulah continued, “I can cherish that moment, grasp my dad’s hand, and feel that it’s amazing.

The actress, whose mother is Demi Moore, admitted to taking “tons of photos” every time she visits her father’s home, “of whatever I see, the state of things.”

Tallulah said, “I’m like an archaeologist, looking for treasure in things I never used to pay any attention to. I have all of his voicemails on a hard disk. I realize I’m trying to record everything in order to create a record for the day he isn’t here to remind me of him and of us.

“These days, my dad can always be found on the first floor of the house, either in his office or anywhere in the large open layout of the kitchen, dining, and living area. Thankfully, his mobility has not been impacted by dementia, she continued.

Tallulah added that he was still thinking about her. She said, “He still recognizes me and smiles when I walk into the room.

When talking about Bruce, Tallulah said in an interview with Vogue that she is “flipping between the present and the past: he is, he was, he is, he was.”

That’s because I’m so unwilling to let go of the hopes I have for my father, she explained. I’ve always seen traces of his personality in mine, and I simply know we’d get along so well if we had more time.

“I embrace all of him because he was cool, charming, slick, trendy, lovely, and a little strange. I inherited those genes from him, Tallulah continued.

According to her, her father would abuse the life he had built for himself because he had grown up in New Jersey with a scarcity mentality. She stated, “He loved to enjoy the life he had achieved for himself. He was a spoilsport. He occasionally ordered one of everything on the menu when we went to a restaurant so he could sample everything. He always enjoyed relaxing on a comfortable couch. Can I make you 10% more comfortable? I believe he thought to himself every day.

The actor’s family, which includes wife Emma, their kids Mabel, 11, and Evelyn, 9, as well as Moore, 60, and their kids Rumer, 34, Scout, 31, and Tallulah, came together to support him “live as full a life as possible,” they said in a statement.

“Keeping Bruce active is the main goal. He has daily activities on his busy agenda. They make sure he exercises both his body and mind, a source added at the time.