Demi Moore and Bruce Willis' Relationship: A Look Back

Bruce Willis and Demi Moore were married from 1987 to 2000 and share three children together

Bruce Willis and Demi Moore attend the after party for the Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis at NeueHouse on July 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo: Phil Faraone/Getty

Demi Moore and Bruce Willis were one of Hollywood's golden couples — and they've remained the gold standard for friendly exes since their divorce in 2000.

The Ghost actress and Die Hard star wed in 1987 after a whirlwind four-month romance, and went on to welcome three daughters together: Rumer Willis, Scout Willis and Tallulah Willis.

While their legal union ended in 2000, the pair immediately proved that their family bond was still intact, traveling together to Paris, attending film premieres and more. In 2020, the former couple even isolated together during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Moore married Ashton Kutcher in 2005, Willis showed his support by attending their wedding. Moore and her then-husband (the pair split in 2011) were later guests at Willis' 2009 wedding to Emma Heming Willis.

In March 2022, Willis' family revealed that the actor was diagnosed with aphasia and would be stepping away from acting. "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. As Bruce always says, 'Live it up' and together we plan to do just that," read a note, which was signed by Moore, Emma, and all five of Willis' children.

Less than a year later, the actor was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and a source told PEOPLE in February 2023 that his family, including ex-wife Moore, "is all closer than ever."

Here's a look back at Demi Moore and Bruce Willis' relationship, from 1987 to now.

July 1987: Demi Moore and Bruce Willis meet at a screening of Stakeout

Bruce Willis And Demi Moore during 61st Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California, United States
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection/Getty

The future pair first connected at a 1987 screening of Stakeout, starring Moore's then-fiancé, actor Emilio Estevez. Moore and Estevez had called off their romance soon after, and within weeks of meeting, Moore and Willis were an item. Moore said at the time that she found him "just so ready to embrace and give me love."

November 21, 1987: Demi Moore and Bruce Willis get married

Four months after their initial meeting, the couple said "I do" in Las Vegas at the Golden Nugget hotel. Moore revealed in her 2019 memoir Inside Out that the nuptials were unplanned. "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." The pair tied the knot once again the following month in front of family and friends during a ceremony officiated by Little Richard.

August 16, 1988: Demi Moore and Bruce Willis welcome their first baby together

Demi Moore, Bruce Willis
Ted Soqui/Sygma/Getty

The couple officially became parents less than a year after their wedding, welcoming daughter Rumer in August 1988. Named for British fiction writer Rumer Godden, their daughter immediately became their focal point, with both actors striving to alternate projects so that at least one of them could be home with her.

"Bruce helped pull this baby out of me," Moore said at the time. "He was there with his hands. ... He's as passionate and as excited and as driven with being a father as he is with anything else that he does."

Willis shared his enthusiasm about fatherhood openly, saying, "I'm a big fan of kids. I tell everybody they should have them."

April 19, 1991: Demi Moore and Bruce Willis share the screen for the first time

Bruce Willis and actress Demi Moore attend the 47th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 20, 1990 at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Willis and Moore worked together for the first time in 1991 when they costarred in the thriller Mortal Thoughts.

"It was nice," Moore told the Baltimore Sun, "considering that we have never actually worked together. It was really an ideal situation for him. It also gave him a chance to do a different kind of role. It was a great way for us to work together. It was good for us on a lot of levels."

July 20, 1991: Demi Moore and Bruce Willis welcome daughter Scout

In 1991, the actors expanded their family once again with a second daughter, Scout. "Pregnancy agrees with me," Moore told Vanity Fair while expecting.

February 3, 1994: Demi Moore and Bruce Willis welcome daughter Tallulah

The couple welcomed their third and last child together in 1994, daughter Tallulah.

June 1998: Demi Moore and Bruce Willis split

Demi Moore & Bruce Willis
Steve Granitz Archive 1/WireImage

After over a decade of marriage, the pair announced that they were going their separate ways in 1998. They continued to be spotted together in the following months, including on a family trip to Paris.

October 2000: Demi Moore and Bruce Willis finalize their divorce

The Die Hard star and G.I. Jane actress famously settled their divorce in one day, after taking two years to sort out their estate.

Following their split, Willis opened up to Rolling Stone about the changing nature of their relationship. "I still love Demi. We're very close. We have three children whom we will continue to raise together, and we're probably as close now as we ever were. We realize we have a lifelong commitment to our kids. Our friendship continues. The institution has been set aside."

October 4, 2001: ​​Demi Moore shows support for Bruce Willis at the Bandits premiere

Demi Moore (second left) and Bruce Willis (second right), and their children, from left, Rumer Willis, Tallulah Belle Willis, and Scout Willis, attend the world premiere of 'Bandits' at Mann Village Theater, Westwood, California, October 4, 2001
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty

Proving that their divorce was indeed as amicable as it seemed, Moore supported her ex by attending the Los Angeles premiere of his movie Bandits. At the event, the former couple posed together with their three daughters.

2005: Demi Moore marries Ashton Kutcher

After being introduced by a mutual friend at a dinner in 2003, the mom of three began dating the That 70's Show star. Two years later, the couple wed at their shared home in Beverly Hills in front of 100 family and friends, including Moore's daughters and Willis. The marriage lasted for six years, ultimately ending in divorce in 2011.

2009: Bruce Willis marries Emma Heming Willis

Willis went on to remarry as well, tying the knot with model Emma Heming Willis in 2009 at his home in Parrot Cay, Turks & Caicos. Moore and Kutcher were among the intimate crowd of guests at the beach nuptials. Willis and Emma later welcomed two children together: daughter Mabel Ray in 2012 and Evelyn Penn in 2014.

June 2009: Bruce Willis says his blended family is "like a tribe"

Ashton Kutcher, actress Demi Moore, actor Micah Alberti, actress Rumer Willis, Emma Heming, actor Bruce Willis, Scout Willis and Tallulah Willis arrive at Columbia Pictures' premiere of "House Bunny" held at the Mann Village Theater on August 20, 2008 in Westwood, California
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

Soon after saying "I do," Willis and his new bride opened up about their newly-expanded family in an interview with W. "We've become like a tribe," Bruce explained. "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. 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," he continued, adding, "I still love her, and I have a lot of respect for how she lives her life."

July 14, 2018: Demi Moore roasts Bruce Willis onstage

Demi Moore and Bruce Willis attend the Comedy Central Roast Of Bruce Willis on July 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California
Tommaso Boddi/WireImage

The Ghost star surprised her ex-husband at the end of his Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis, which was filmed at The Hollywood Palladium in 2018. The actress poked fun at Willis' parenting skills, their marriage and more.

"For those of you that don't know me, I am Demi Moore," began the mom of three. "I was married to Bruce for the first three Die Hard movies, which makes sense, because the last two sucked."

Cracking a joke about his parenting style, Moore went on: "Bruce is super generous. When our daughter Rumer was a baby and it was his turn to change the diaper in the middle of the night, he would lean over and whisper to me, 'I'll give you a thousand dollars right now if you change that diaper.' "

September 23, 2019: Bruce Willis shows support for Demi Moore at her book launch

Rumer Willis, Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, Scout Willis, Emma Heming Willis and Tallulah Willis
(left to right) Rumer Willis, Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, Scout Willis, Emma Heming Willis and Tallulah Willis. Stefanie Keenan/Getty

Willis was on hand to celebrate the launch of his ex's candid 2019 memoir, Inside Out, at a book party in L.A. During the event, the actor posed for a group photo with Moore and their three daughters, as well as his wife Emma.

September 25, 2019: Demi Moore says she and Bruce Willis "felt more connected" after their divorce

Rumer Willis, Bruce Willis, Tallulah Belle Willis, Demi Moore, Marlene Willis and Scout LaRue Willis attend the after party for the Comedy Central Roast of Bruce Willis at NeueHouse on July 14, 2018 in Los Angeles, California
Phil Faraone/VMN18/Getty

Moore opened up about her divorce from Willis in Inside Out, writing, "It's a funny thing to say, but I'm very proud of our divorce."

She added, "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."

While the split "wasn't easy at first," the former pair worked through it. "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."

In the end, Moore said, "We felt more connected than we did before the divorce."

April 2020: Demi Moore and Bruce Willis self-isolate with their kids

The pair made headlines early on in the COVID-19 pandemic for self-isolating together along with their three daughters at their home in Idaho.

"It's been really funny to have both of my parents in the house where they raised us, which has been really cute," their daughter Scout said on the Dopey podcast. "They're both such nerdy, adorable, '90s parents in a small town where they chose to have their kids and not be in L.A. It's been pretty cute."

While hunkering down, the duo documented much of their quality time together, from hanging out in matching pajamas to working on photo projects with their kids, starting a book club and more.

June 21, 2020: Demi Moore celebrates Bruce Willis on Father's Day

Moore gave her ex a shout-out on Father's Day in 2020, celebrating the dad-of-five with an Instagram post. "Happy Father's Day, Bruce! Your kids are so lucky to have you ❤️," the actress wrote alongside a slideshow of photos in which Willis climbs onto a table to move a light fixture out of the way for a group photo with all of his children.

February 3, 2021: Demi Moore says staying home with Bruce Willis during the pandemic was "a blessing"

Demi Moore and Bruce Willis Father's Day
Demi Moore/Facebook

​​"It worked out that Bruce came and spent time with us," Moore explained to Naomi Campbell on the supermodel's YouTube series No Filter with Naomi, adding that Willis' wife Emma and their two daughters joined soon after.

"It was really a blessing," the actress said. "It's everything that's come forward has allowed us to reevaluate what's important and what needs attention that has been overlooked and neglected. It was amazing."

She added that her daughters "love their little sisters."

"Our family regardless of what the shape of it is, it's important to keep together and for the little ones to feel comfortable with me, and to know me so they also know their sisters better," Moore said. "It was really sweet and we did have some silly times for sure."

October 25, 2021: Rumer Willis says she's "so grateful" her parents made their family a priority post-split

The stars' children have often expressed their gratitude for the way their parents handled their divorce, taking care to maintain a sense of a family unit.

"I'm incredibly grateful that both of my parents have made such an effort my entire life that I never felt like I had to choose between them," Rumer told PEOPLE. "I have a lot of friends who grew up with parents who got divorced at a young age and I watched their parents, like, pit them against each other or have to choose between holidays. And I didn't have to do that, and I feel so grateful that my parents made it such a priority that we could be a family, even though it looked different."

March 19, 2022: Demi Moore wishes Bruce Willis a happy birthday

Demi Moore and Bruce Willis
Demi Moore Instagram

Moore shared a sweet Instagram tribute to her ex in celebration of his 67th birthday. ​​"Happy birthday, Bruce! Thankful for our blended family 🤍," Moore wrote alongside a photo of the pair grinning beside each other in a kitchen, with Moore holding a cutting board full of mushrooms.

March 30, 2022: Bruce Willis' family reveals his aphasia diagnosis

The Die Hard star's family announced via social media that he would be retiring from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a degenerative disease that impacts one's ability to communicate.

"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," they wrote. "As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him," the caption added.

"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. As Bruce always says, 'Live it up' and together we plan to do just that." The note was signed by Moore, his wife Emma, and the actor's five daughters.

May 17, 2022: Demi Moore shares a throwback photo of her and Bruce Willis

Demi Moore posts throwback photo with Bruce at Cannes
Shutterstock

Moore has continued to show her love and support for her ex following his aphasia diagnosis, sharing a throwback snap of the pair at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of his film The Fifth Element. "From the Cannes archives, circa 1997," Moore wrote alongside the photo of the glammed-up duo on the red carpet.

December 2022: Demi Moore celebrates Christmas with Bruce Willis and family

Demi Moore Shares Family Photos with Bruce Willis and All of His Kids: 'We Are FAMILY'
Bruce Willis and family. Demi Moore/instagram

The exes celebrated the holidays together in 2022, posing for a rare family photo with Bruce's wife and his five daughters. "We are FAMILY!! Getting into the holiday spirit," Moore wrote on Instagram alongside the blended family standing in front of a Christmas tree.

February 16, 2023: Bruce Willis' family shares his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis

Less than a year after Willis' aphasia diagnosis, Willis' wife Emma shared that the actor's "condition has progressed" and he has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.

"Our family wanted to start by expressing our deepest gratitude for the incredible outpouring of love, support and wonderful stories we have all received since sharing Bruce's original diagnosis," Emma wrote on Instagram.

A source later told PEOPLE that Willis' blended family is "closer than ever" following his diagnosis

According to a statement from the family, Moore, Emma and his five daughters are focusing on helping Willis "live as full a life as possible."

March 19, 2023: Demi Moore celebrates Bruce Willis' 68th birthday

On Instagram, Moore posted a video of the entire family, including Emma Heming Willis, serenading Willis on his 68th birthday.

"Happy birthday, BW! So glad we could celebrate you today. Love you and love our family. Thank you to everyone for the love and warm wishes — we all feel them," the G.I. Jane star captioned the clip.

September 13, 2024: Demi Moore says she visits Bruce Willis weekly when she's in Los Angeles

During an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, Moore opened up about the way she encourages her daughters to approach their dad as he struggles with dementia.

"What I say to my kids is you meet them where they’re at. You don’t hold on to who they were or what you want them to be, but who they are in this moment," she said. “And from that, there is such beauty and joy and loving and sweetness.”

She added, “When I’m in L.A., I go over every week, and I really treasure the time that we all share.”

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