Demi Moore Boldly Rebelled Against Bruce Willis Even After His Near Marriage-Ending Ultimatum
- Demi Moore and Bruce Willis were Hollywood's golden couple when they got married.
- Willis turned out to be controlling, which led Moore to rebel against him.
- Their relationship came to an end in 1998, but they have remained good friends.
Before Hollywood was captivated by power couples like Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore reigned as the ultimate celebrity duo. However, as all good things must end, so did Willis and Moore’s relationship after 13 years of marriage.
Moore has never been one to conform to societal expectations of women. Whether it was Willis wanting her to be a stay-at-home mother or the public criticizing her for taking on bold roles like the one in Striptease, she has consistently lived life on her own terms. Even during her whirlwind romance with Willis, she didn’t shy away from standing her ground despite his threats to end their marriage.
Demi Moore rebelled against Bruce Willis even when he threatened to divorce her
Demi Moore was engaged to actor Emilio Estevez when she met Bruce Willis for the first at the premiere of the 1987 film Stakeout, starring Estevez. However, her relationship with Estevez ended soon and she began dating Willis. After four months of courting, the couple tied the knot in Las Vegas.
In her memoir Inside Out (via The Daily Mail), Moore wrote that they had bonded over mutual trauma: she had a difficult childhood and he struggled with stuttering as a child and an adolescent. As loving as Willis was, he was also controlling, and based on what the actress wrote in her memoir, it might have been because of his “unresolved trauma”.
After they welcomed their first daughter, Rumer Willis, Moore wanted to go back to work and was offered a role in the movie We’re No Angels. However, Willis insisted that she became a stay-at-home mother claiming, “This is never going to work if you’re off shooting a film.” The Substance actress refused to listen to him and took the role. She claimed that she flew home from Canada every weekend to be with her husband.
1990’s Ghost made Moore’s fame reach new heights, and this was when Willis told her, “I don’t know if I want to be married.” Ultimately, they reached a pact that they would not stay away from each other for two weeks and spend four days together, but the G.I. Joe actress violated it with a film.
I just didn’t buy the ‘You’re the king’ kind of thing, which he thrived on. Plus, telling me, ‘I don’t know if I want to be married’ is not exactly the way to my heart.
Soon after, she got pregnant with a second baby and they welcomed Scout. This mended their relationship temporarily as they made time for each other by scheduling their films in a way that they could be together.
Demi Moore and Bruce Willis’ called it quits in 1998
Moore’s third pregnancy was difficult, which led to Willis taking care of the two other children while his wife recovered after giving birth to their third daughter Tallulah, who was very weak at birth. Soon, Moore became the highest-paid actress in Hollywood with her role in Striptease.
However, her marriage with Willis remained as complicated as ever, if not more. In her memoir, she wrote that the time spent away from each other prolonged their marriage. She wrote:
I think both of us from the outset were more passionate about having kids than we were about being married.
Their commitment issues along with their disagreements about Moore pursuing a career in Hollywood ultimately led to their separation in 1998. They may not have been the happiest couple while married, but they are good co-parents and remained good friends even after the divorce.
