Sandra Bullock says she could not speak about partner’s ‘traumatic diagnosis’

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, Press Association Senior Entertainment Reporter

American actress Sandra Bullock has said she was unable to speak about her partner Bryan Randall’s “traumatic diagnosis” prior to his death.

Randall died in August 2023 following a three-year battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which the 62-year-old Speed star said she had been told “not to share” at the time.

According to US outlet People, she told the SmartLess podcast, hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes: “I wasn’t allowed to speak about it. That was the request and I tried – I honoured it.

“I know why he asked me not (to).”

Bullock went on to say that she had found his diagnosis “traumatic” as it had “isolated me in the process” amid the Covid pandemic, and added that it was a “huge weight”.

The actress said she started “grieving” Randall before he died as he was “ill for half of our relationship”.

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 have to quietly plan. And I’m a very good planner with illness.

“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.”

Bullock added that her mother’s cancer and father’s “accidents” had prepared her for Randall’s diagnosis.

Model-turned-photographer Randall and Bullock reportedly met in 2015 and made their relationship public in 2016.

Bullock has starred in films such as Miss Congeniality, Crash and Practical Magic, and won an Oscar for her role in 2009 sporting drama The Blind Side.

ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, according to the ALS Association website.