Sandra Bullock's private life experienced a jarring shock when it was announced on Monday, August 7 that her longtime boyfriend, Bryan Randall, had passed away at the age of 57 after a private battle with ALS.
The actress, 59, and her partner met in 2015 when she was hired to photograph her son Louis' fifth birthday party, when sparks flew. When their relationship developed, he became a loving co-parent for her two children, Louis and Laila, now ages 13 and 11.
Bryan, who was also a dad to an adult daughter from a previous relationship, rarely ever made public appearances alongside Sandra, only being seen a handful of times during the Ocean's 8 promotional cycle in 2018.
However, he was a doting dad to her two children, and when appearing on Red Table Talk in December 2021, she opened up about the prospect of marrying him.
"I don't want to say do it like I do it, but I don't need a paper to be a devoted partner, devoted mother," she stated. "I don't need to be told to weather a storm with a good man."
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The Bird Box star gushed about the "love of my life," talking also of their children, including his adult daughter. "We share two beautiful children — three children, his older daughter. It's the best thing ever."
She continued: "I said, 'Remember that NDA you signed when you photographed my son?' I said, 'You know, that still holds.'"
"He said, 'Why?' I said, 'I'm bringing a child home when I come back from Toronto,'" she added, calling him a "saint" for helping her raise her kids even after only being together for a short time.
"He was so happy, but he was scared. I'm a bulldozer. My life was already on the track, and here's this beautiful human being who doesn't want anything to do with my life but the right human being to be there."
She jokingly called him a "very Christian" guy, saying: "I don't always agree with him and he doesn't always agree with me.
"But if they can take away from that and that is where they feel drawn to, he's the exact right parent to be in this position."
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Bryan's family statement which broke the news of his passing read: "It is with great sadness that we share that on Aug. 5, Bryan Randall passed away peacefully after a three-year battle with ALS. Bryan chose early to keep his journey with ALS private and those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request."
"We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours," it added.
"At this time we ask for privacy to grieve and to come to terms with the impossibility of saying goodbye to Bryan," the statement concluded, signed, "His Loving Family."