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In August 2023, Sandra Bullock lost her partner of more than eight years, Bryan Randall.
The photographer, who was helping the Oscar winner raise her two children, died at 57 on Aug. 5 following a secret three-year battle with ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Bryan had chosen to keep his health issues private until after he was gone.
Nearly five months later — just before the turn of the 2024 New Year — Sandra said goodbye, releasing his ashes in a meaningful location on a meaningful date.
Keep reading for the details, as revealed by Sandra's sister, and more…
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Sandra Bullock released Bryan Randall's ashes into the Snake River in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the very end of 2023, as he wanted.
On Dec. 30, 2023, the Oscar winner's sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, posted a serene video of the frigid river, its snow-covered banks and the rising sun. "Happy birthday, Bry. Sandy brought you to the river, just as she promised," Gesine wrote alongside the Instagram clip.
Dec. 30 would have been Bryan's 58th birthday.
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Nearly three months after Bryan Randall's devastating death, Sandra Bullock was photographed in public for the first time since she and his family announced his passing.
She's pictured here in Los Angeles' Brentwood neighborhood on Oct. 25.
Keep reading to see who joined her…
MORE: Stars we lost in 2023
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Sandra Bullock and daughter Laila stepped out in Los Angeles' Brentwood neighborhood on Oct. 25, 2023. It was the first time the Oscar winner had been seen in public since she lost her long-term partner, Bryan Randall, to ALS in August 2023.
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Bryan Randall, who fell for actress Sandra Bullock in early 2005 when he photographed her son Louis' birthday party, died on Aug. 5 after a secret three-year battle with ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
On Aug. 21, DailyMail.com reported that, according to insiders, Sandra was mulling a return to the Three Bees at Harbour Island — a compound of villas in the Bahamas — to scatter the ashes of the man she in 2021 called "the love of my life." The outlet reported that the getaway location was a very special place for the couple, who made some magical memories there.
Months later, it emerged that she and his family did not choose the island as his final resting place. Read on to find out what the outlet reported before the truth emerged…
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On Aug. 9, DailyMail.com reported that Sandra Bullock and Bryan Randall quietly exchanged vows in a non-legally-binding ceremony in front of a small group of family and friends on a beach in the Bahamas in December 2017.
On Aug. 21, the webloid reported that the Three Bees at Harbour Island — where it claimed the actress was considering scattering Bryan' ashes in the sea — is where they had that commitment ceremony. "They really did this for [their children], to kind of seal the deal and show them this was a forever thing. After the ceremony, [Sandra's two kids] Louis and Laila started calling Bryan dad," a source said.
Sandra said in late 2021 that although Bryan was the love of her life, she had no plans to marry him after going through "the divorce process" with unfaithful ex-husband Jesse James.
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"The place was just so special to them both. They would take over the entire island so they could just be themselves. It was a place where they shared some of their happiest times together and with the kids and friends," a source told DailyMail.com of Sandra Bullock and Bryan Randall's love for the Three Bees at Harbour Island in the Bahamas.
"They would go there for weeks at a time," the source added. "It holds a lot of meaning and it just makes sense for that to be where she says goodbye to him."
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DailyMail.com reported on Aug. 21 that a representative for the Hollywood Forever Cemetery delivered Bryan Randall's ashes to his 29-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, Skylar Randall, three days after the photographer's death.
A source further told the outlet that Bryan's partner of eight years, Sandra Bullock, "has taken Skylar under her wing since her father passed."
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Two days after Bryan Randall passed away, his family publicly announced his death. "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 in a statement to People magazine. "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." The statement continued, "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. 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, "His Loving Family."
Sandra's sister, pastry chef and cookbook author Gesine Bullock-Prado, took to Instagram to honor Bryan and to praise her sibling. "I'm convinced that Bry has found the best fishing spot in heaven and is already casting his lure into rushing rivers teaming with salmon," Gesine captioned a photo of Bryan. "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. Rest in peace, Bryan. In lieu of flowers, please donate to ALS Association and Massachusetts General Hospital…"