RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesSandra Bullock said she started grieving her partner before he died. David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage
Sandra Bullock said she started grieving her partner, Bryan Randall, years before his death in 2023.
Randall had been diagnosed with ALS three years earlier, though his family kept it private.
"My person left a lot earlier than the body left," the actor said.
Sandra Bullock , 62, said she felt that she had lost her partner, Bryan Randall, long before he died of complications from ALS .
On Monday's episode of the "Smartless" podcast , the actor spoke about the toll of caring for Randall as his health declined.
Bullock and Randall, a photographer, began dating in 2015 after meeting at her son Louis' birthday party. Randall died in August 2023, three years after he was diagnosed with ALS . His family publicly disclosed the illness only after his death.
"I wasn't allowed to speak about it. That was the request, and I honored it," Bullock said. While she understood Randall's wishes, Bullock said the experience left her feeling alone.
"It isolated me in the process and plus, the entire world was locked in with a pandemic," she said.
It took more than a year to identify his illness, but she had already begun preparing for what lay ahead, Bullock said, adding that Randall had been ill for "half of our relationship."
"I'm a very good planner with illness. Because my father was ill and he had horrible accidents, and my mother had cancer, I feel like I'm very comfortable in a setting where somebody is ill," Bullock said.
Raising two young children added to the challenge, including a daughter who saw Randall as a father figure.
At the same time, Bullock said she had already begun processing the prospect of losing him.
"I started grieving Bryan four years before he passed. Something in me said, 'Start the grieving now,' because I knew I would be the caregiver," she said.
"My person left a lot earlier than the body left. And I don't think I ever dealt with that until after he passed because you're just on this treadmill," she said.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, is a progressive disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, per Mayo Clinic . Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, it causes muscle weakness and can eventually make it difficult to walk, speak, swallow, and breathe.
In 2022, Bullock said she was taking a break from acting because she felt " so burnt out " and wanted to focus on her children. She did not share Randall's ALS diagnosis at the time.
Other celebrities have also spoken about becoming caregivers for their partners.
In April 2025, Jay Leno said caring for his wife, Mavis, after her dementia diagnosis was part of his commitment to her and their marriage vows.
"At some point in my life, I'm going to be called upon to defend myself. I think that's really what defines a marriage. I mean, that's really what love is," Leno said.
In September, Emma Heming Willis said she initially mistook Bruce Willis' early dementia symptoms for problems in their marriage, but his eventual diagnosis gave her clarity.
"There was relief in understanding, 'Oh, okay, this wasn't my husband, it was that this disease was taking parts of his brain,'" Heming Willis said. "Once you hear that, I just softened."
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