Rumer Willis Shares the Moment She Knew Her ‘Brutal’ Relationship with Ex Derek Richard Thomas Was Over: 'I Need to Go'

The former couple, who share 3-year-old daughter Louetta, split in August 2024

NEED TO KNOW

• Rumer Willis has shared an insight into the “reckoning moment” that made her realize her relationship with Derek Richard Thomas was over
• The pair, who split in August 2024, welcomed daughter Louetta in April 2023
• Willis said she is manifesting marriage and more children, and hopes to meet someone and get married next year

Rumer Willis is getting candid about why her relationship with her daughter’s father ended. 

The actress, 37, confirmed her split from ex-boyfriend Derek Richard Thomas, with whom she shares 3-year-old daughter Louetta, in August 2024. 

And while appearing on The Inside Edit podcast with her best friend, stylist Maeve Reilly, in an episode released May 18, Willis gave an insight into the moment she knew the pair’s romance was over. 

Revealing that it was host Reilly’s June 2024 wedding to husband Zach Quittman that made her realize she didn’t want to be in the relationship anymore, Willis shared, “Your wedding literally was a huge reckoning moment for me in my life. I heard your vows and I just realized that the situation I was in was never going to look like that, no matter how much effort I put in.”

“And I was just watching you guys, just weeping, holding my child, and I just thought, you know what? I need to have more value for myself," she explained.

Willis added, “I need to go and like, leave, no matter how scared I am and find something that looks like this, because I want that. Literally, it was such a huge reckoning and massive moment for me so I will always be grateful."

Reflecting on their romance, Willis went on to share that she's started to "feel back in my power in the last eight months" after a "really challenging relationship. "

"I try not to speak negatively but my truth is that it was really brutal and challenging,” she continued. “And I’m so proud of myself, you know? I work really hard and I show up for my kid and it’s such a privilege.”

“It’s such a privilege to be a mom,” she added. “It makes me so happy.”

As for what she's looking for in her next relationship, Willis explained that she's "grateful" for what she learned in her previous one — even though it was "one of the most brutal things I had to do" — as she now has "a totally different set of stands and a different thing I'm looking for."

"I'm looking for someone who shows up with consistent communication and is interested in pursuing me and wooing me," she continued, adding that she is dating again after putting it off for a year and a half after her split from Thomas.

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“I’m gonna meet this wonderful man,” Willis added of what she is manifesting, before sharing that she hopes to get married next year and wants more kids. “I can’t wait — I’m gonna have, like, seven more … I want to have like, eight kids. I’m so excited," she said.

Back in November, Willis opened up about the challenges of being a single mom in a teary post on Instagram. 

“Just had a good cry in the woods… some days being a single mom is hard. She is not hard (ever) but some days doing everything alone can be,” Willis wrote across a video of herself wiping tears from her face while walking outdoors.

She added in the caption, “Wow, and I just realized I have food in my teeth…really winning today.”

Willis welcomed Louetta in April 2023 in a home birth. "✨ Louetta Isley Thomas Willis ✨ You are pure magic 🌱 Born at home on Tuesday April 18th," an Instagram post of Louetta's arrival captioned. "You are more than we ever dreamed of ✨."

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