Bruce Willis Once Felt He 'Failed as a Father' to First 3 Children — He Would Have '5 More Girls Right Now'
While married to Demi Moore, Bruce Willis had three daughters. He felt he'd failed in his duties as a father when he and Moore divorced, but when he remarried, he was asked if he wanted boys, and his response was hilarious!
Demi Moore and Bruce Willis initially met at the premiere of the movie "Stakeout." The film happened to be starring Moore's fiancé at the time, Emilio Estevez, but the actress and Bruce were meant to be together.
The pair ended up getting married in 1987 and stayed together for over a decade until their marriage concluded in divorce. However, while married, Bruce and his wife welcomed three gorgeous daughters that are their spitting images.
Bruce, Scout, Tallulah, and Rumer Willis at the "Over The Hedge" Los Angeles premiere on April 30, 2006, and his other two daughters Mabel and Evelyn Willis on January 1, 2019. | Source: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images & Instagram/emmahemingwillis
Their daughters are Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah Willis, who've all revealed how talented they are, just like their parents. The "Die Hard" star always valued being a parent more than anything else, once stating:
“I’m much more proud of being a father than being an actor."
GETTING TO KNOW MORE ABOUT RUMER WILLIS
Rumer Glenn Willis was born on August 16, 1988, in Paducah, Kentucky. According to a Gainesville Sun article, Bruce and Moore's first child weighed eight pounds, one ounce upon delivery.
Rumer studied at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and then the University of Southern California before following in her parent's footsteps by becoming an actress. She's starred in shows and movies like "The House Bunny," "Empire," "Striptease," and so much more.
Demi Moore and Bruce Willis with their daughters Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah Willis at the premiere of the film "Bandits" on October 4, 2001, in Westwood, California. | Source: Jason Kirk/Getty Images
Besides acting, she's also dabbled in music and songwriting. Rumer's hit song "Crazy 4 U" was used on the "Empire: Original Soundtrack" for season 3, and she also got to star in and win season 20 of "Dancing With The Stars" in May 2015.
That same year, in September, Rumer made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in "Chicago." Her Instagram page shares images of her parents and the trips and activities she takes part in.
SCOUT WILLIS IS MORE OF AN ACTIVIST
Bruce and Moore's middle child is Scout LaRue Willis, who was welcomed on July 20, 1991, in Sun Valley, Idaho. Just like her older sister, she's done some acting work in movies like "Bandits," "Moonrise Kingdom," and "The Scarlet Letter."
However, acting doesn't seem to be her passion as Scout spends a lot of time doing her activism. She's worked with non-profit organizations like Habitat For Humanity, Save the Children, Bruce Willis Foundation, and ONE Campaign.
Bruce's second child also got into music like Rumer. She and singer Gus Wenner released a debut EP titled "Gus + Scout" in 2012, and they also gave live performances of some of their tracks like "Me and James," "Barrel of the Highway," and "Gone, Gone, Gone."
In February 2016, Scout launched her clothing brand, Scout's Genera. She also has a vibrant Instagram account where she posts images of herself, her siblings, and her parents.
TALLULAH WILLIS'S BODY IMAGE BATTLES
The Vindicator's February 5, 1994 article covered Tallulah Belle's birth. She was born a few days before, on February 3, 1994, in Los Angeles, with Bruce's spokesman, Paul Bloch, noting that both mother and daughter were doing well.
Just like her older sisters, Tallulah has acted before in "The Scarlett Letter and Bandits" and "The Whole Ten Yards." The University of San Francisco graduate has also been quite open about her self-esteem and body image battles.
In 2017, Bruce's daughter shared that she was three years sober after her rehabilitation in 2014. She explained that she opened up about her struggles because she hoped it would help other people in similar situations.
During the "What's Underneath Project," Tallulah shared about growing up in the media and how much damage it caused to her self-esteem. She announced some great news in May 2021 when she revealed she was engaged.
Moore's youngest child got engaged to Dillon Buss after dating him for a year. Taking to her Instagram page, Tallulah uploaded several images of her proposal and her response, which occurred in front of a house.
Her film director fiancé also uploaded several photos of the engagement and the diamond ring. In the caption of his post, Buss shared how pleased he was that he could finally call Tallulah his fiancée as she remained his best friend.
BRUCE'S FEELINGS OF FAILURE ABOUT HIS DIVORCE FROM DEMI
Eleven years after Bruce and Moore tied the knot, they separated, which led to divorce in 2000 after thirteen years and three children together. The former couple cited irreconcilable differences in their divorce.
The County Clerk, Marsha Riemann, revealed that the judge signed the famous couple's divorce order the same day it was filed. Despite the divorce seeming like a mutual decision, Bruce didn't take it well, once stating:
“I felt I had failed as a father and a husband by not being able to make it work.”
After their divorce, Moore and Bruce agreed on joint custody. Even though Bruce had a sour outlook on his role as a father and husband, his daughters didn't feel the same way, as Scout addressed the matter during a previous Dopey podcast appearance.
She shared how "funny" and "cute" it was to have her divorced parents together in the same house where they were raised. Scout found it "divine timing" to have some time to hang out with both her parents.
Even though their parents' divorce was probably hard for the three Willis daughters, they only had good things to say about their parents. Rumer believed Bruce and Moore still got along well because they didn't allow their divorce to affect their parenting.
Speaking previously to Larry King, she confessed that she never had to worry about being split up during birthdays or vacations as they always went together as a family. She also noted:
“They always made an effort to do all of the family events still together and... to still have our family be as one unit, as opposed to two separate things, which I think really made an impact.”
BRUCE WILLIS'S MARRIAGE TO EMMA HEMMING
While working on his family life with Moore and their daughters, Bruce found love again in model and actress Emma Heming. The actor was 54 when he officially married his 30-year-old girlfriend on March 28, 2009.
The private wedding ceremony was held at a friend's Beverly Hills home. Bruce and his wife initially got married at his Parrot Cay home on the Caribbean islands of Turks & Caicos.
Moore attended this ceremony with her then-husband Ashton Kutcher and her and Bruce's daughters. Bruce and his ex-wife have formed an incredible bond over the years, and she was invited when he renewed his vows to Heming.
The actor and his current wife had a ceremony in 2019 for their 10th anniversary. Moore welcomed Heming warmly into their blended family, leading the model to have nothing but positive things to say about her husband's ex, like:
“She welcomed me into her family like I welcomed her into ours.”
Heming also revealed that she respected Bruce and Moore for the handling of their divorce, allowing their children to come first. She said she'd learned a lot from that experience and grew so much from watching it play out.
BRUCE'S FOURTH CHILD - MABEL WILLIS
On April 1, 2012, Bruce and Heming welcomed their first of two children together, daughter Mabel Ray Willis. The actor confessed that at 10-months-old, Mabel was finally learning to walk, and he added:
“We're just trying to make her laugh all the time."
Heming is quite proud of her children, and her nine-year-old daughter is regularly featured on her Instagram account. The family would go on excursions to ski fields, beaches, museums, and amusement parks.
The illness badly affected his [Bruce Willis] cognitive abilities.
Heming also shared images of Mabel snuggling her younger sister, using a telescope with her father, and bonding with her stepsisters. One recent photo showed the little girl and her sister embracing their older stepsisters.
THE LAST WILLIS DAUGHTER - EVELYN WILLIS
Mabel's sister, Evelyn Penn Willis, was born on May 5, 2014. Not much is known about the seven-year-old girl, except judging from her mother's posts about her; it seems she's growing up as an average child and enjoys sewing, ice-skating, and being outdoors.
One of the images where Bruce was seen bonding with his daughters was in a June 2021 Father's Day post. In the black-and-white image of Heming, Mabel, and Evelyn, piling onto the actor, his wife revealed her husband's response to an interesting question:
“Bruce’s response when asked if he’d like to have a son?… 'I’d have 5 more girls right now.'”
At the end of March 2022, Bruce's family announced some heartbreaking news about him. They revealed he would step away from his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia, which hinders him from communicating effectively.
The illness badly affected his cognitive abilities. Rumer shared on Instagram how grateful their family was for the support of Bruce's fans and shared how they were tackling the issue as a united family.