Rumer Willis, 35, loves to see her parents, actor Bruce Willis and his ex-wife Demi Moore, in their "grandparent era."
Visiting New York for her residency at the iconic Café Carlyle, Rumer told TODAY's Hoda Kotb that seeing her parents with her daughter "unlocks all of these childhood memories, because being a grandparent, I think, is the best they have. All of the love and joy without any of the responsibilities."
Rumer's baby girl (Bruce's granddaughter), Louetta Isley Thomas Willis, was born at home in April 2023. She and boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas seem enamored by their daughter.
Bruce, who has five daughters of his own, is similarly delighted by Lou. They had some sweet moments during their last visit together, which was recently, Rumer said.
"Lou is just starting to walk a little bit, and she was walking over to him, and it was so sweet," Rumer shared. "He’s a girl dad, through and through. I saw him with my sisters, my little sisters. So you’re seeing that all come back again."
Becoming a mother has given Rumer a new appreciation for her own mother, she said.
“I think we can be so harsh on our mom sometimes, especially girls,” she said.
“I had this moment early on where I think I even went over to my mom’s house and I cried a little bit because I was like, ‘I get it,’” she added. “The love that I feel for her is what she was feeling for me and I just had this depth of love and appreciation.”
The family is also feeling the love for Bruce, who stepped away from acting at the age of 67 after being diagnosed with aphasia. Then, in February of 2023, Moore announced he’d been diagnosed with the “cruel disease” of frontotemporal dementia.
"People will stop me on the street or at the airport, wherever it is, and are so effusive about how much they love him, how much of an impact he’s had on them, or just that they’re sending love to our family," Rumer said. "And it really makes me a proud daughter, honestly, to just see how much love he’s getting."
She noted that the Willis family is purposely trying to be vulnerable and transparent about Bruce's health to draw attention to the disease in the hope of finding a cure.
"If it can have any impact on another family that is struggling in any way with something like this, or bring more attention to the disease in hopes of finding a cure or anything that can be of service to anybody else, I think it's really important," Rumer said.
