John Travolta paid a touching tribute to his friend Bruce Willis after it was revealed the Die Hard star, 67, was stepping away from acting because of his secret battle with aphasia, which has begun to impair his cognitive abilities. The Saturday Night Fever alum, 68, took to his Instagram on Thursday (March 31) to share sweet throwback snaps of the two buddies; one with their arms around each other and the second featuring John’s late wife Kelly Preston and Bruce’s ex Demi Moore.
“Bruce and I became good friends when we shared 2 of our biggest hits together, ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘Look Who’s Talking,'” John began his caption of the heartbreaking photo album. “Years later he said to me, ‘John, I just want you to know that when something good happens to you I feel like it’s happening to me.’ That’s how generous a soul he is. I love you Bruce.”
Just a day before, Demi shared the devastating news in a post to Instagram, which was signed by Bruce’s entire family, including his and Demi’s daughters Rumer, 33, Scout, 30, and Tallulah, 28, Bruce’s current wife Emma Heming, and Bruce and Emma’s daughters, Mabel Ray, 9, and Evelyn Penn, 7. “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,” the heartbreaking message 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,” the post continued. “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.”
Bruce’s family didn’t specify his symptoms or when he was diagnosed, but the Mayo clinic describes aphasia as “a condition that robs you of the ability to communicate, including speaking, writing and understand language, both verbal and written.”