Bruce Willis seen in public for 1st time since dementia diagnosis, thanks 1st responders
Bruce Willis recently made a rare public appearance to express his gratitude to the first responders working amid the Los Angeles wildfires.
The outing appeared to mark the retired actor's first public sighting since being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February 2023.
In an Instagram video posted by his wife Emma Heming Willis on Thursday, Willis is seen interacting with Los Angeles police officers, shaking hands and posing for a photo.
Set to the song "Going to California" by Led Zeppelin, the video shows the "Die Hard" actor wearing a baseball cap, jacket and a pair of sneakers.
"Spotting a first responder, Bruce never missed a chance to show his gratitude with a heartfelt handshake and a 'thank you for your service,'" Heming Willis wrote in the caption. "Yesterday was no different ❤️🤍💙."
Willis was diagnosed first with aphasia -- a condition where the brain's ability to understand or express language is impaired, according to the National Institutes of Health -- in 2022 before receiving an additional diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia in 2023, according to his family.
Frontotemporal dementia is a type of dementia that impacts one's personality and may cause behavioral changes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Heming Willis celebrated her 17th wedding anniversary with the actor on Dec. 30, sharing a heartfelt message on Instagram about their "unconditional love."
"17 years of us ❤️," she wrote in the caption. "Anniversaries used to bring excitement -- now, if I'm honest, they stir up all the feelings, leaving a heaviness in my heart and a pit in my stomach. I give myself 30 minutes to sit in the 'why him, why us,' to feel the anger and grief. Then I shake it off and return to what is. And what is… is unconditional love."
"I feel blessed to know it, and it's because of him," she added. "I'd do it all over again and again in a heartbeat 💞."
The couple share two daughters, Mabel Ray Willis and Evelyn Penn Willis. Willis is also a father to daughters Scout Willis, Rumer Willis and Tallulah Willis, whom he shares with ex-wife Demi Moore.
