Sandra Bullock’s Longtime Partner Bryan Randall Dies at 57 After Battle With ALS

Sandra Bullock attends the premiere of "The Lost City" during the 2022 SXSW Conference and Festivals at The Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, on March 12, 2022. Rich Fury/Getty Images for SXSW

Photographer Bryan Randall, actress Sandra Bullock’s longtime partner, has died at the age of 57 following a three-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), his family announced in a statement on Aug. 7.

Mr. Randall died “peacefully” over the weekend following his private battle with the neurological disease, his family said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

“It is with great sadness that we share that on Aug. 5, Bryan Randall passed away peacefully after a three-year battle with ALS,” his family told the publication. “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,” the statement continued.

His family asked for privacy so that family members could grieve and “come to terms with the impossibility of saying goodbye to Bryan.”

In lieu of flowers, they asked that donations be made to the ALS Association and the Massachusetts General Hospital.

What is ALS?

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive nervous system disease that impacts nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, effectively destroying them and causing a loss of muscle control, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While ALS typically begins with symptoms such as muscle twitches, weakness in the leg, and slurred speech, it slowly progresses into paralysis.

There is currently no cure for ALS and researchers are still unsure as to what causes the disease, although a small number of cases are inherited.

According to the CDC, ALS is age-related and individuals are typically diagnosed with the disease between the ages of 55 and 75.

Ms. Bullock, 59, who has maintained a rigorously private relationship with Mr. Randall, has not yet publicly commented on his death.

However, her sister Gesine Bullock-Prado wrote on Instagram that she is “convinced that Bry has found the best fishing spot in heaven and is already casting his lure into rushing rivers teaming with salmon.”

“ALS is a cruel disease but there is some comfort in knowing he had the best of caretakers in my amazing sister and the band of nurses she assembled who helped her look after him in their home,” she wrote. “Rest in peace, Bryan.”

‘Love of My Life’

According to reports, Ms. Bullock first began dating Mr. Randall in 2015 when he photographed her adopted son Louis for his birthday.

They were initially seen in public together later that year at the wedding of fellow actors Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux and then again at the Hollywood premiere of Ms. Bullock’s political comedy “Our Brand Is Crisis.”

The couple of eight years raised both of Ms. Bullock’s adopted children—Louis and Laila—along with Mr. Randall’s daughter, Skylar, whose mother Janine Staten passed away in January 2004 after battling drug addiction, Page Six reported.

Ms. Bullock, who continued to work on a number of high-profile movies during their relationship, rarely commented on her romance with Mr. Randall, although during a November 2021 appearance on the talk show Red Table Talk, the actress did describe him as the “love of my life.”

Ms. Bullock also revealed the couple had no plans to get married.

“I am someone who went through the divorce process. I found the love of my life. We share two beautiful children—three children, his older daughter. It’s the best thing ever,” she said.

The actress also described Mr. Randall as a Christian who is the “example that I would want my children to have.”

“I have a partner who’s very Christian and there are two different ways of looking at things,” she said. “I don’t always agree with him, and he doesn’t always agree with me. But he is an example even when I don’t agree with him.”