Sandra Bullock has opened up about her late partner Bryan Randall’s private battle with ALS.
The “Practical Magic 2” star discussed what it was like to care for Randall while honoring his request to keep his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diagnosis a secret for years during her appearance on the “SmartLess” podcast.
“I wasn’t allowed to speak about it,” Bullock told hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes in a clip of the episode posted by TMZ. “That was the request, and I honored it. … He asked me not to share … and it isolated me in the process.”
She explained that Randall, who died in 2023 at age 57, had been ill for half of their relationship and that his diagnosis came amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bullock and Randall had also kept their relationship fairly private. The couple started dating in 2015 after they reportedly met at Bullock’s son Louis’ fifth birthday party. Randall, a photographer, had been hired to capture images of the celebration. Bullock also has a younger daughter, Laila, whom she adopted in 2015. The couple was also raising Randall’s older daughter, Skylar.
Over the years, Bullock and Randall debunked rumors about their engagement and marriage numerous times.
“I don’t need a paper to be a devoted partner and devoted mother,” Bullock said in 2021.
The “Ocean’s 8” star described Randall’s diagnosis as “traumatic” and that she had started grieving him four years before his death. Bullock’s sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, had been the only person who had known about Randall’s diagnosis “for a while” although the actor eventually also confided in friends Jennifer Aniston and Bateman’s wife, Amanda Anka, according to People.
“My person left a lot earlier than the body left,” Bullock said in the podcast. “I don’t think I ever dealt with that until after he passed.”
Bullock’s episode of the “SmartLess” podcast will be released on Aug. 24 but is available now to SiriusXM early access subscribers.
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