Sandra Bullock was seen for the first time since the death of her longtime partner Bryan Randall in August – as she stepped out in LA with daughter Laila on Thursday.
Randall died aged 57 on August 5 following a private three-year battle with ALS, (known as MND in the UK) – he had been in a relationship with Oscar-winner Bullock, 59, since 2015.
The Speed star held her youngest child’s hand and lovingly kissed her on the head as they walked with a bodyguard – nearly three months on from the family’s tragic loss.
Sandra wore a white top, tan coat and black trousers, teamed with sneakers and a black handbag.
The Hollywood actress first met Bryan – a model-turned-photographer – in 2015, after he photographed her son Louis’s birthday. It came five years after her messy divorce from Jesse James.
Outing: Sandra Bullock was seen for the first time since the death of her longtime partner Bryan Randall in August – as she stepped out in LA with daughter Laila on Thursday
Rare outing: Randall died aged 57 on August 5 following a private three-year battle with ALS, (known as MND in the UK) – he had been in a relationship with Oscar-winner Bullock, 59, since 2015 – The couple are pictured at the world premiere of Oceans 8 in 2018
On their last public sighting together, in July, 2020, the former model was pictured gazing adoringly at his love as they arrived to an intimate gathering in studio city with her two children.
‘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 shared 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,’ the family statement continued.
‘At this time we ask for privacy to grieve and to come to terms with the impossibility of saying goodbye to Bryan.’
The statement was signed off by ‘His Loving Family.’
Randall’s family have asked for donations to the ALS Association and the Massachusetts General Hospital in lieu of flowers, according to People. .
There is no cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – ALS – and the disease is fatal, but it progresses at different speeds in patients.
Tragic loss: Sandra called Randall the ‘love of my life’ in 2021 as he battled ALS
Mom and daughter: The Speed star held her youngest child’s hand as they walked
Sweet moment: Sandra planted a kiss on Laila’s head during their walk
Chat: The pair were seen walking with a bodyguard in California
Talk: Sandra was seen chatting with her beloved daughter
The mom and daughter were stepping out in LA for a quick walk
People with ALS are expected to live two to five years after the symptoms first manifest, although 10 percent of sufferers live at least 10 years. It is also known in some countries as motor-neurone disease.
The disease is also referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease after the US baseball player when he was diagnosed in 1939 at just 36 years old.
The couple did not have any children together, but Bullock has two adopted children — son Louis, 13, and Laila — and Bryan has an adult daughter named Skylar from a previous relationship.
Sandra and Bryan began dating several months after first meeting, and even attended Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux’s wedding that same year.
The actress was in the process of adopting her second child when things got serious with Bryan.
Though Sandra and Bryan have kept their romance very private, the silver screen star gushed about her beau in 2021 on Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk, where she also discussed her divorce from ex-husband Jesse James in 2010.
During the appearance Bullock said: ‘I am someone who went through the divorce process.’
Close bond: Sandra planted a kiss on her daughter as they walked
Family time: Bullock has two adopted children — along with Laila she is mom to son Louis, 13 – Bryan has an adult daughter named Skylar from a previous relationship (seen in 2018)
Her plus one: The couple seen at the London premiere of Oceans 8 in 2018
‘I found the love of my life,’ she continued. ‘We share two beautiful children — three children, his older daughter. It’s the best thing ever.’
Sandra met Bryan when she hired him as a photographer to take pictures at her son’s birthday, and described him as a ‘saint’ after she informed him she was adopting a second child when they ‘hadn’t been together that long.’
‘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,'” Sandra explained.
‘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 also described her partner as being ‘very Christian’ and a great example to the children. ‘I don’t always agree with him and he doesn’t always agree with me,’ she said, adding: ‘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.’
Before her relationship with Randall, Bullock was in a high-profile romance with Monster Garage host Jesse James.
They met after she brought her motorcycle-obsessed godson on a trip to West Coast Choppers’s Long Beach headquarters in 2003. The pair ultimately wed in 2005, in front of 270 of their closest friends and family at a ranch in the San Ynez Valley.
In March 2010, days after she took home an Academy Award for her performance in The Blind Side, several women came forward about their affairs with Jesse.
A month later, Jesse checked himself into a rehab facility in Arizona for sex addiction after apologizing profusely to Bullock, although that wasn’t enough to save the marriage – they divorced the following June.
Defense:Just days after her partner’s death Bullock was defended by fans amid controversy over The Blind Side star Michael Oher’s claims his ‘adoptive’ parents swindled him – 14 years after the actress won an Oscar for the film (Bullock pictured in The Blind Side)
In 2017, he told DailyMail.com: ‘Yeah, I did cheat on my wife, yeah… I stood up and took accountability for it and apologized. And that’s [the] end of story.’
Bullock other exes include Chris Evans, Ryan Gosling, Bob Schneider, Matthew McConaughey, Don Padilla, Troy Aikman and Tate Donovan.
Just days after her partner’s death Bullock was defended by fans amid controversy over The Blind Side star Michael Oher’s claims his ‘adoptive’ parents swindled him – 14 years after the actress won an Oscar for the film depicting his life.
The Tuohys, who were popularized by Bullock’s acclaimed 2009 film The Blind Side allegedly tricked Oher into signing a document which made them conservators, and not his adoptive parents, allowing them to profit off him. His suit alleged, among other things, that he only recently found out the Tuohys did not legally adopt him.
Widespread belief was that Oher was indeed the adopted son of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, the latter of whom was played by Bullock in the Academy Award-winning role.
Some fans on social media had claimed Bullock should ‘give her Best Actress Oscar back’ in the wake of the controversy.
Last month a Tennessee judge said she was ending the conservatorship agreement between Oher and the Tuohys.
Shelby County Probate Court Judge Kathleen Gomes said she is terminating the agreement reached in 2004 that allowed Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy to control Oher’s finances.
Oher signed the agreement when he was 18 and living with the couple as he was being recruited by colleges as a star high school football player.
Gomes also said she was not dismissing the case. Oher has asked that the Tuohys provide a financial accounting of money that may have come to them as part of the agreement, claiming that they used his name, image and likeness to enrich themselves and lied to him that the agreement meant the Tuohys were adopting him.
Gomes said she was disturbed that such an agreement was ever reached. She said she had never seen in her 43-year career a conservatorship agreement reached with someone who was not disabled.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): Details of fatal disease there is no cure for
What is it?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurogenerative disorder which impacts the nerve cells in the spinal cord and the brain, according to the Mayo Clinic. It gets progressively worse and causes significant muscle control loss in people who have it.
Treatment
There is no cure for ALS and the disease is fatal, but it progresses at different speeds in patients.
Symptoms
The first signs of ALS are twitching of the muscles, weaknesses of the limbs and problems with swallowing and speaking. Progressively, it deteriorates muscle control and impacts an individual’s ability to breathe, move, speak and eat.
ALS symptoms correspond with where nerve cells deteriorate in each person, and could lead to issues walking, tripping, and weakness of the knees, ankles and hands.
It can also lead to problems with muscle cramps and twitching in areas including one’s tongue, arms and shoulders. People with ALS have experienced untimely spells of laughter, tears and yawns, as well as changes to one’s thinking process or behavior, according to the clinic.
Risk factors
Among the risk factors researchers have established for ALS include genetics, as about 10 percent of people diagnosed with it were passed down a gene from a relative, which is called hereditary ALS, according to the clinic. Kids of people who have hereditary ALS have a 50 percent chance of having the gene.
Age is also a factor as the risk of getting the disease trends up toward the age of 75, with the most common range of people who have it between 60 and 85. In terms of gender, men are diagnosed with a higher rate of ALS prior to the age of 65, according to the clinic.
Other factors that have been linked to ALS include smoking and exposure to toxic substances. The clinic reported that military personnel have been diagnosed with ALS at a higher rate.
Causes
There is no known cause of ALS, according to the Mayo Clinic, and heredity plays a factor in a small number of cases.
Lou Gehrig was one of baseball’s preeminent stars while playing for the Yankees between 1923 and 1939. Known as ‘The Iron Horse,’ he played in 2,130 consecutive games before ALS forced him to retire. The record was broken by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995
Lou Gehrig’s Disease
As well as being known as ALS, it is frequently referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Lou Gehrig was a stalwart first baseman for the New York Yankees between 1923 and 1939. He was famous for his strength and durability, earning the nickname ‘The Iron Horse’ with a record-setting streak of 2,130 consecutive games.
In a July 4, 1939 speech on Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day at Yankee Stadium, the ballplayer famously said, ‘For the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.’
His popularity and fame transcended the sport of baseball. He died two years after his diagnosis on June 2, 1941.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
