Demi Moore Claims Her Divorce From Bruce Willis Had ‘The Biggest Impact’ On New ‘DWTS’ Season 20 Champion Rumer Willis

Demi Moore is opening up about the difficulties that new Dancing With the Stars champion Rumer Willis had to overcome, and what impact Demi’s decisions and the media surrounding them have had on her oldest daughter.

Willis and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy dominated Season 20 from the get-go, eventually besting Riker Lynch with partner Allison Holker and Noah Galloway and Sharna Burgess in the finale.

As reported by MSN Entertainment, during a pre-taped interview that aired during the DWTS semifinals, Moore explained that Rumer really struggled when she and Bruce Willis decided to divorce in the early 90s. “When their father and I decided to divorce it probably had the biggest impact on her,” Demi explained.

Rumer followed up, explaining that the media attention surrounding their divorce was tough on her and her sisters, Tallulah and Scout. That attention soon affected Rumer’s self-esteem, which lead to her mom initially not wanting her to do the show.

“When she said, ‘I think I want to do Dancing With the Stars, my whole insides — I have to be honest — were screaming ‘No.'”

Now that Rumer has been crowned the Dancing With the Stars Season 20 champion, Demi Moore’s tune has certainly changed. Rumer’s entire family was a staple in the audience — her famously tough dad, Bruce Willis, even tearing up as he watched his oldest dance with Chmerkovskiy.

So, what does Demi think of her daughter’s win?

“I’m thrilled!” Moore told Us Weekly. “I think that she worked hard and she earned it and I’m really out of words — I’m just so happy for her, I really am. She’s amazing.”

For her part, Rumer sang the praises of her partner after her big win. “Honestly, I’m happy for myself but I’m so unbelievably proud of him,” she told Us Weekly. “To go through this journey – I’ve only been through it one time and it’s a lot. You put so much of yourself into it and I can’t imagine putting so much of yourself into it and then having your name not called, and so I feel like I’m happy for me and I’m so excited and proud for me but I’m so unbelievably happy and proud of him.”

Rumer had plenty of A-list support during her triumphant run on DWTS, but her mom wants to make one thing clear, her daughter earned the win.

“But one of the most beautiful things that I’ve witnessed is watching her passion become greater than her fear,” Demi Moore added. “It has nothing to do with her being my kid or Bruce’s kid, it has everything to do with just who she is.”

[Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images for Santa Barbara International Film Festival]