Inside Bruce Willis’ very unusual bond with ex Demi Moore – and how Will Smith helped star cope with her new romance
FOR most couples divorce spells the end of a relationship and, at best, an effort to be civil for the sake of the kids.
But Bruce Willis and Demi Moore have proved the exception to the rule, and 20 years after their split they are closer than ever.
The incredible love between the Hollywood exes was highlighted yesterday, when the family released a statement about the Die Hard star’s ailing health.
The announcement that the 67-year-old was retiring from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia – a brain condition that affects the ability to speak, write, and understand language – was signed by his wife Emma Heming Willis, ex-wife Demi and their five children.
The moving message – posted on both Demi and Emma’s Instagram pages – reflected the unique bond between the star, his wife and ex-wife, who referred to him as “our beloved Bruce” and described themselves as a “strong family unit”.
“To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities,” it read.
“As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him. This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support.
“We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him,” they added. “As Bruce always says, ‘Live it up’ and together we plan to do just that.”
The actor split with Demi, 59, in 1998, after 11 years of marriage, and they share three daughters – Rumer, 33, Scout, 30, and Tallulah, 28.
He also shares Mabel, nine, and Evelyn, seven, with 43-year-old Brit Emma, who he wed in 2009.
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Despite Demi hinting that Bruce cheated on her during her marriage, the pair have stuck together through thick and thin – attending each other’s weddings and even holidaying together.
Bruce helped his ex-wife through her painful split with third husband Ashton Kutcher in 2011, and he even moved into her Idaho ranch during the first coronavirus lockdown, while Emma was stuck in LA.
The pair posed in matching pyjamas during the four-week quarantine, as well as mocking Demi’s famous potter’s wheel scene from Ghost.
The A-list star has described his modern family in glowing terms, saying they had “become like a tribe” – and it’s the love of two women he’ll be turning to now in his hour of need.
Whirlwind romance
Demi met Bruce at the premiere of Stakeout, starring her then-fiance Emilio Estevez, in 1987.
The actress – previously married to singer Freddy Moore – split from Emilio soon after and started dating Bruce.
They tied the knot just three months later on November 21, 1987, at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
“We were moving to the gambling tables when Bruce said, ‘I think we should get married.’ We’d been joking about it on the flight there, but suddenly it didn’t seem like he was kidding,” Demi revealed in her 2019 memoir, Inside Out.
The couple announced their split in 1998, blaming filming schedules, but Demi’s memoir suggested she thought he had cheated on her.
She claimed he wanted to be a family man, yet at the same time craved the freedom to “do whatever the f*** he wanted”.
Their divorce was finalised in 2000, with Bruce saying they intended to stay close.
“I still love Demi. We’re very close,” he told Rolling Stone.
“We have three children who we will continue to raise together, and we’re probably as close now as we ever were. We realise we have a life-long commitment to our kids. Our friendship continues
“The institution has been set aside… It’s difficult to live your life and marriage under a magnifying glass, which is what happens to movie star couples.”
‘Proud’ of divorce
In her memoir, Demi said she was “proud” of her divorce and how both of them handled it.
She admitted: “It’s a funny thing to say, but I’m very proud of our divorce.
“I think Bruce was fearful at the beginning that I was going to make our split difficult, and that I would express my anger and whatever baggage that I had from our marriage by obstructing his access to the kids – that I’d turn to all of those ploys divorcing couples use as weapons. But I didn’t, and neither did he.”
She added that the split “wasn’t easy at first, but we managed to move the heart of our relationship, the heart of what created our family, into something new that gave the girls a loving, supportive environment with both parents”.
“We felt more connected than we did before the divorce,” she added.
Bruce was on the guest list for Demi’s wedding to Ashton Kutcher five years later, and the two men began to hang out together.
We felt more connected than we did before the divorce
Demi Moore
“’People ask us, ‘How do you guys get on so well?’,” Ashton told Live magazine.
“Well, I don’t like everything Bruce does, and I’m sure he doesn’t think everything I do is great.
“But being with Bruce is normal to me now. We go scuba-diving, skiing, we hang out with the girls together, we watch movies, we talk about sport.”
Will Smith’s intervention in ‘dark hours’
For his part, Bruce admitted he was initially jealous of Demi’s new romance, but says Will Smith gave him a pep talk and told him to put his daughters first.
“During some very dark hours he talked to me about it,” he told Playboy in 2007.
“He said, ‘Dude, you’ve got to do whatever it takes to get the kids and all the spouses or the girlfriend together. You’ve got to show your kids it’s okay.’ It was like a light went on. Ding. So Will, thanks.”
When Bruce wed Emma in 2009, Demi and Ashton joined them to celebrate on the Turks and Caicos islands.
Emma later said that she was “really blessed” in her relationship with her husband’s ex because “from day one it’s been comfortable and fun”.
Demi split with Ashton in 2011, after he cheated on her with a younger woman, and Bruce was the first person she turned to for help in her darkest times.
When she published her tell-all memoir Ashton stayed silent but, despite the revelations about their marriage, Bruce rang her to say “I’m so proud of you” and became “extremely emotional”.
“I, too, became very emotional, and I’m not a crier,” Demi said. “The purity of his love and acceptance, the space that he could hold for me, to be walking out and (to have) that encouragement, it just really meant so much to me.”
Shortly afterwards, to mark her 58th birthday, Bruce posted a picture of himself holding her memoir with the message, “Happy Birthday, Demi! We adore you.”
Cosy lockdown as Emma stays away
In 2020, unfounded rumours of a reconciliation were sparked when Bruce moved to Demi’s ranch during lockdown.
The pair posted cosy pictures with matching PJs, alongside their three daughters and Scout’s husband, Dillon Buss.
Demi even posted a throwback picture of their wedding, which fuelled the flames.
But Rumer explained that Emma and the two younger girls couldn’t be there because Mabel, then seven, had trodden on a hypodermic needle in an LA park and was having treatment there when a travel ban was enforced.
The extended family often post pictures of family get-togethers, days out and even holidays together on their Instagrams.
Earlier this month, Demi wished her ex a happy birthday, sharing a photo of them standing in the kitchen, with the caption, “Happy birthday Bruce! Thankful for our blended family.”
But the unbreakable star has acknowledged how unusual their domestic setup is in a previous interview.
“It’s generated a lot of interest because everyone can understand resentment and envy in the breakup of a marriage, but they don’t understand how I can get along with my ex like that,” he said.
“Demi and I made a choice to put the kids first, and we’re really lucky that it turns out we all have fun together.”
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Through good times and bad, Demi has stuck by her ex-husband’s side and made sure the two sides of his family put on a united front.
In the tough times ahead, the box office legend will need their support more than ever.