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Sandra Bullock Opens Up About The 'Traumatic Diagnosis' She Was Asked Not To Share
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Sandra Bullock is breaking her silence on the loss of her longtime partner, Bryan Randall, three years after his death. Speaking on a new episode of the “SmartLess” podcast, Bullock, 62, opened up about the “traumatic diagnosis” that led to Randall’s death in August 2023. Randall died at age 57. Bullock said during the episode, which is available now to SiriusXM early access subscribers and will be widely available on all podcast platforms on Aug. 24, that Randall “asked me not to share” his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis diagnosis, also known as ALS and Lou Gehrig’s disease, at the time. Randall suffered a three-year battle with ALS behind closed doors. The neurodegenerative disease affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, according to the ALS Association. There is no cure. “I wasn’t allowed to speak about it. That was the request and I tried — I honored it,” she shared, according to multiple outlets. Bullock added that she knew why Randall asked her not to disclose his diagnosis. Randall endured his diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic, which Bullock said left her feeling “isolated” from having to face the “huge weight” of his diagnosis alone. Bullock said that her sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, was the only person who had knowledge of Randall’s diagnosis “for a while.” “At first I go, ‘Oh, I can handle that. I can be quiet,’” she recalled. Bullock later disclosed Randall’s diagnosis to friends Jennifer Aniston and Amanda Anka, who is “Smartless” co-host Jason Bateman’s wife. Bullock didn’t specify at what point she confided in Aniston and Anka. “When the physical illness was then coupled with the mental health aspect of things — and it’s something that people don’t talk about… it was a trifecta that was pretty dark,” she said. Discussing Randall’s symptoms, Bullock referred to ALS as “the process of elimination over the course of a year.” “Where he was in his journey, both physically and mentally, I started grieving Brian four years before he passed,” she said, revealing that the model-turned-photographer “was ill for half of our relationship.” “There was something that had shifted,” she added. “My person left a lot earlier than the body left. I don’t think I ever dealt with that until after he passed, because you’re just on this treadmill, you know?” Noting that you “have to quietly plan” amid an ALS diagnosis, she said, “I’m a very good planner with illness.” Bullock then revealed to the podcast’s hosts Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes that her mom battled cancer and her dad suffered “accidents.” “It doesn’t scare me — not the illness itself, it doesn’t scare me. I can see and be around just about anything. But I had two young kids that were navigating it, especially a little girl who saw [Randall] as a father figure,” she continued. The “Practical Magic 2” star and Randall, who met in 2015, shared a blended family, which included her adopted children, Louis and Laila, as well as Randall’s daughter Skylar from a previous relationship. Randall’s family issued a statement about his death in 2023. “It is with great sadness that we share that on Aug. 5, Bryan Randall passed away peacefully after a three-year battle with ALS,” said the statement, according to People. “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.” By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.