Image Source: Getty / Vivien Killilea / ESPRIT
Rumer Willis was feeling sentimental on May 30. One month after welcoming their first child — a daughter named Louetta Isley Thomas Willis — Willis penned a heartfelt tribute to her partner, Derek Richard Thomas. “Happy Birthday my sweet love @derekrichardthomas,” she wrote on Instagram. “Last year we were still discovering each other and now this year we get to celebrate with this beautiful girl we made.”
“I love that you are my partner in crime in this wild adventure.”
Willis continued the message by listing a few of her favorite things about her boyfriend. “You are such a gift, I love the way you giggle and when you make me laugh especially when I’m sad and grumpy,” she wrote. “I love your passion for music and soil and your desire to learn. I love your silliness and how you’re always trying to make Lou and me smile. I love the way you cook and could eat your tacos every day. I love that we get to be kids together and parents to this magical little girl. I love that you are my partner in crime in this wild adventure.” Willis went on to praise Thomas’s musical talents, citing his voice as the reason she first fell in love with him. “We love it when you sing to us,” she said, referring to herself and baby Louetta. “It’s the reason I fell in love with you before I knew anything about you, even your name. You truly have such a gift and I can’t wait to see you shine this year even brighter than you already do. You are turning 29 today and in the last year I have seen you grow and navigate through so much, opening for the stones, producing three albums, navigating the journey in fatherhood, planting our garden and building our home together.”
Willis ended the message with a touching nod to her partner’s parenting skills and an expression of gratitude for the love he brings to their family. “I am so grateful to have you in my life and our daughters life,” she said, just a few weeks after celebrating her first Mother’s Day as a mom. “You are such a great dad and our girl is so lucky to call you papa. I know this is just the beginning of the expansion of you and your dreams. What a privilege it is to walk beside you on this journey as your best friend and true love. We love you so much. Your girls Rue & Lou.”
Since publicly sharing their romance in 2022, the couple have intentionally kept the details of their relationship private. Alongside her sweet message, though, Willis also shared a few rare photos of Thomas napping with Louetta, enjoying some downtime with the family cat, and performing on stage under his stage name, DRT. “Ps I’m sorry I”m such a creep and take so many pics while your sleeping,” she wrote alongside a cry-laughing emoji. “I just love you and you look so handsome while you sleep.”