Bruce Willis steps out with friends

LOS ANGELES — Bruce Willis was seen grabbing coffee with friends this week in Santa Monica, the first time the veteran action star was spotted in public after revealing his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.

The “Die Hard” and “Armageddon” star, 67, left acting last year due to cognitive struggles. In February, his family announced that his condition had worsened.

“Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD),” said the Feb. 16 statement signed by wife Emma Heming Willis, ex-wife Demi Moore and daughters Rumer, Scout, Tallulah, Mabel and Evelyn. The family called it a “cruel disease.”

“Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces,” the statement continued. “While this is painful, it is a relief to finally have a clear diagnosis.”

An estimated 50,000 people in the United States live with frontotemporal dementia, according to experts, and it typically hits between ages 45 and 64.

The progressive brain disease affects the frontal and/or anterior temporal lobes of the brain — lobes that have a wide range of responsibilities, including controlling voluntary movement, expressive language, managing higher-level executive functions and processing semantic memory. And the prognosis is bleak. There is no cure and no way to prevent its onset, according to the Association of Frontotemporal Degeneration. The average life expectancy is seven to 13 years after the start of symptoms.

Bruce Willis